Are You Prepared To Fail

“Fail to prepare, and you prepare to fail.”

That’s all well and good, but there comes a time when you have to get up off your ass and do the work.
The best nutrition plan in the world won’t help you if you never actually use it. The best training plan in the world is useless without execution.

Don’t get bogged down looking for ‘the perfect time’ (right now) to get started. Similarly, there’s no such thing as a perfect workout, or a perfect diet; trying to find them is costing you time, and that’s the only thing you can’t get more of!

Imperfect action beats procrastination by perfectionism.
Every. Single. Time.

What's Your Story?

We all have an internal story of who we are, of all the things we “can’t” do, and of how we aren’t fit/strong/thin/flexible/smart/rich/whatever enough.

The problem is this story is usually based on our least successful moments; it’s more of a ‘poor history’ than a biography; it doesn’t reflect your capabilities, or the strengths you’ve gained through those tough times.

What could you gain if you open yourself up to who you might be?

Goal Setting - Are you making this BIG mistake?

It's time for another post on goalsetting, as this seems to be something that people are still struggling with.

You're probably familiar with the idea of setting S.M.A.R.T.  goals; if not, read goal-setting-key-to-your-success.

You may even have delved into goalsetting, and you have a great "why" for what you want to achieve; if you don't know what i mean by that, read motivation-and-goal-setting-find-your-why.

You've found your why, and you know to set a SMART goal for the result you want, so what else is there??


Why you should make Process Goals. 
If you focus all your attention on results based goals, it will be very frustrating and demotivating

How to make a good & useful new years resolution

It's getting close to the time of the year when people start making the same resolutions as they have for the last few years. And it AMAZES me, it really fucking does. If you can plan and follow through on going on holiday, then you can develop a plan to get in the shape you want. And as for this shit of waiting for the 'perfect' time to start? What a crock of shit. It's a total cop out.

You don't sit in the drive waiting for every traffic light to go green before turning the key in the ignition. That'd be batshit crazy. And yet that's what most people do with

How to make a healthy habit stick

Chatting to many of my challengers over the last few days, and it seems motivation is sometimes letting you down....

Feeling motivated is an emotional state, and like all emotional states, it rises and falls, kind of like the tide; so if you're relying on motivation to keep you on track you will sooner or later (usually sooner) feel a lack of motivation, and unless you have another way of staying on track, then you're going to fall off the wagon (and probably start beating yourself up over it).

So you might then try to rely on willpower... but this takes mental energy, and the more decisions or choices you are faced with over the course of your day, the more drained you are of mental energy.

So where does that leave us?

Shame. Despair. Determination. Results.

Rrrrrrriiiiippp!

Embarrassment.
Shame.
Mortification.
Despair.

Those were the things I was feeling so strongly it hurt as I walked down the aisle of the bus, my fat ass having destroyed the seam on yet another pair of oversized trousers.

But as I fought back tears and found a seat, there was something else bubbling up;

Resolve.
Purpose.
Determination.

This will NEVER. FUCKING. HAPPEN. AGAIN!

20+years later and it has never happened since. It took about a year and a half of hard work and sacrifice to get rid of 5 stone of useless fat. I hated 'working out', but it was necessary so I just got on with it.
And eventually, feeling a kind of self confidence I had never before experienced, I wanted to help others achieve similar feelings of greatness. But I knew there had to be an easier way to achieve the kind of result I'd gotten, so I applied my inner lazy bastard to refine what I learned from my experience, added a 5year degree in health & fitness and numerous professional development courses. From all of that there are only a handful of key things to get straightened out and you will be unstoppable.

I'm not going to tell you I have all the answers you need.. Because what I have are questions only you can answer. Because you think you want to lose weight, but weightloss is bullshit.

We will self sabotage at every turn to avoid loss. I help you reframe the whole process into what you have to GAIN.. better health, self confidence, and better sex are only some of the things you gain from getting your head straight. BUT I turn away more people than I take on as clients, because I ask tough questions and I am not afraid to calling you on your bullshit; I will not allow you to lie to me the way you lie to yourself, and at times you will probably think I'm an asshole; I'm fine with that, you're not paying me handsomely to be your BFF, you're paying me to guide you to the results you say you want, and I will not take on anyone who's going to be wishy washy and make half arsed attempts. Either you go all in, or you're not in at all.

If you're serious about making a massive change to your life. It will mean facing some up to some hard truths. This is uncomfortable but necessary in order to gain clarity and focus.
Then you can move forward with resolve.
With purpose.
With determination.

Let me help you change your life!
I'm looking for 7 people...
**want to get rid of 3 stone (or more)
**willing to face up to some uncomfortable truths
**based in Tralee or surrounding area
**ready & able to get started within the next 2 weeks

Contact me by phone or PM for more details on how to apply. 086 1945 040

Please share this post, so someone who would benefit from my help will see it.

Is your NYR really just an ADS?

I've talked a bit before about why I generally find the whole "New Year, New You" thing bloody annoying. In case you missed it, in a nutshell it's because most people make the same "Resolutions" year after year, and have given up by Paddys day if not much sooner.  

Not so much of a New Years Resolution then, as an Annual Delusional Statement. It might sound harsh, but it's probably true. So, how can you tell if you're delusional in terms of your health, fitness and/or weightloss goals for this year? You start by asking yourself the following questions:

What's your goal?

Why are you doing this?

What does your plan look like? 

What are you gonna focus on first?

What are you missing?

What are you doing but shouldn't be?

What aren't you doing but should be?

If you haven't answered those questions, then your resolution is more of a delusion, at the moment.  The good news is that going through this process every few weeks will help you to focus on what's important to you so that you get better results, faster. 

If you'd like my help to make sure this year you really do achieve your goals, get in touch and we'll see what your next steps should be. 

Malachy.

How to overcome the voice in your head that says you can't

Wise words from the legend himself! The little voice in my head was something I used to struggle with a lot when running; you know the one.. the voice that says "you've run far enough, you can take a rest now" before you're even halfway through your run (or maybe it's just me???). That voice used to sound so serious and authoritative, I had a tough time blocking it out. 

Eventually, I found a better way to deal with it.. Now, instead of that stern voice, my inner doubts may only be spoken by Micky Mouse, and only after he has been sucking the helium from balloons. The only problem I have now, is trying to not trip from laughing so hard at my inner doubts! it's got me some strange looks when I randomly burst out laughing while running, but I'm used to that already!

Get it done

It's great to have a long term goal, but 'today' is the only day where shit gets done! 'Tomorrow' is a mythical place where productivity & dreams go to die. Put aside some time today and just get it done: Even if it's only 5 minutes of exercise, any exercise is better than no exercise. 

Never let the fear of 'not getting it perfect' stop you from doing things a little better. Perfect is unsustainable and probably unattainable (because it keeps changing), but we can always do a little better.

A Pleasure or A Pain?

Getting your daily physical activity can be a chore, or it can be a pleasure, and it's your choice which way you view it. If you decide to view it as a chore, then you're much more likely to skip your mini workouts and come up with some bull$hit excuse as to why you couldn't take 4 minutes out of your day to take action on improving your health, fitness, and life in general. It's much easier to follow through when you decide to view it as a pleasurable challenge which will help you to develop not just your physical strength, but also your strength of character.

Why you shouldn't need/want to lose weight.

I hear it all the time..

I want to lose some weight for my wedding

Or 

My doctor says I need to lose weight because of my (insert name of non-communicable medical condition here).

The fact of the matter is both are doomed to be successful failures. Allow me to explain. 

Goal setting 101

You've probably heard about setting SMART goals already, (if not, click here)so I won't bore you with the details here. Suffice to say the goals above, while worthwhile, aren't going to deliver any long term results.

They're too vague to be meaningful over a longer period of time.

Loss aversion.

As humans, our brains are wired to be loss averse. That means we will fight hard to avoid a loss. To give a concrete example, think of a person who continues to have their old car repaired, spending good money after bad simply because they've already spent so much on it. All the while knowing that they could spend less than the cost of the last repair on a newer model which will be more economical to run and to repair in future.

Let's use an example we can all relate to, a lost wallet or keys, or even worse, the mobile phone!  If you LOSE any of these things, you're going to try your hardest to GET IT BACK. Because we are loss averse.

The research that looks at long term weight loss is not encouraging. Almost everyone who LOSES WEIGHT will GET IT BACK within the next 5 years, regardless of what diet they use. 

I suspect this is due to a combination of the built in loss aversion we all share, and the weight loss mindset.

So I propose a shift in mindset.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of my mindset moment, though at the time I certainly didn't realise it was anything momentous! 

 I stepped up onto the bus and heard the familiar rrrrriiiipp that accompanied my fat ass busting it's way out of yet another pair of 40" trousers, my face turning the customary beetroot red. As I waddled my 17stone bulk down the bus to try & find a seat, mortified with embarrassment and ashamed that I couldn't even get onto a bus easily anymore, there was one thought foremost in my mind...

"This will NEVER. F**KING. HAPPEN. AGAIN!!"

The next thought was about finding a seat close to the front of the bus, but once that was done I was back to the bigger picture..

"I AM going to GET RID OF THIS USELESS FAT ONCE AND FOR ALL"

12 months later I was 5 stone lighter, and  seriously needed the belt on my 34" trousers. Having made the lifestyle changes needed to get rid of the useless fat, I'm completely smashing the statistics for long term "weight loss" (19 years later and still an easy 34"). I believe that's due mainly to mindset. I had my mind set on GETTING RID OF FAT, rather than LOSING WEIGHT.

There's another factor involved in the language here, and that has a crucial role to play. 

Lose weight - sometime, somehow, a magical body composition fairy will sprinkle some magical frosting on my cereal and my body will begin to shape itself into the one I want without me having to take any responsibility for my poor daily food and activity habits which have gotten me to this point. (Externalising responsibility and giving up control).

Get rid of weight - action is required on my part in order to make this happen. (Internalising responsibility and taking control).

The difference in language is subtle, yet powerful. Which is why I sometimes sound like a broken record on the topic of language. I will insist in changing language habits just as strongly as I insist on changes to eating and activity. Especially when it comes to words and phrases such as "I can't" or "it's (too) hard". 

If you want to see my angry drill sergeant side, persist in saying "I can't" and see what happens!

9 Steps to Fitness & Weight Loss Success in 28 Days

A lot of people struggle with motivation and staying on track with their diet (I HATE that word, and here's why) and exercise plans. Does this sound like you, or someone you know?

There are a number of ways to improve your chances of sticking to a program.

1. Get a training buddy.
You're less likely to skip out on a training session if you know you'll be getting a call from your buddy cursing you for flaking out of your session. Likewise, it's easier to chow down on junk food if you're not comparing nutrition notes with someone else working towards a similar goal.

2. Keep a record.
Whatever you're trying to change, keep a diary of it. From logging exercise or nutrition, to monitoring cigarette smoking or tracking sleep or weight, you have a better chance of successfully changing things when you keep track of what you're doing. Whether you use a smartphone app, or good old pencil & paper is up to you. Just do it!

3. Ask questions.
Don't just blindly accept whatever 'expert advice' is being touted in this weeks/months glossy magazines. At best, this info is so general its next to useless for most individuals; at worst, the 'expert' or 'celebrity trainer' is giving outdated or disproven theories, and being misquoted or quoted out of context by the reporter. Talk one-to-one with a health and fitness professional to discuss your situation, and get tailored advice. Ask why specific recommendations are being made. Once the WHY makes sense to you the actual DOING becomes a little easier. If they can't give you the why, go elsewhere.

5. Expect and Accept Failure.
When you were born, did you pop out and start running around and doing handstands straight away? Of course not, you fell on your face a lot before you got the hang of walking upright. Why? Because you were learning something new. And that takes time and persistence. Expect to fail lots when learning something new. It's a good thing. Laugh at failure, (it makes it less scary), learn from failure (so next time it's something different you stumble on) and move on.

6. Focus.
Does it ever feel like you're putting in the work, but it's not working? Focus could be what's missing. There are 2 main kinds of focus that are relevant here:

• General focus - you're generally mindful throughout your normal day of what you're trying to achieve, and how your actions or lack thereof will help or hinder you in achieving your goal. You take responsibility for your choices and actions.

• Specific focus - this is more of a 'right now' kind of focus. By focusing your attention on which muscles are active as you exercise, you actually get more benefit due to the enhanced brain body connection. And this is true for all kinds of physical activity, not just what we've come to think of as exercise.

7. Be realistic.
Life has its ups and downs, and achieving any worthwhile goal is no different. Don't expect to see visible progress every day. instead focus on improvements 3 weeks in 4. Then for the next 4 weeks, repeat the process. The aim is progress over time, not instant perfection. Don't beat yourself up for not attaining unrealistic goals, congratulate yourself for making improvements by doing something you enjoy. Warning, this is not food related enjoyment!! This is common pitfall, celebrating achievements with a behaviour thats undermining what you're trying to achieve. Don't fall into that trap!

8. Breathe deeply and relax.
You'll often hear people say "take a breath and count to ten" when someone looks like they're about to lose their cool. But why wait till you're getting annoyed to enjoy the benefits of breathing well. Breathing can be very relaxing when you've had a bit of FOCUSED practice. Check out this breathing exercise and give it a whirl.

9. Keep an eye on my facebook page for challenges to keep things interesting.

 Rebalance Your Life.

Challenging myself

I started this year with the goal of challenging myself, I mean REALLY challenging myself with at least 3 events/ personal challenges; basically taking my comfort zone and kicking the shit out of it! This was NOT a New Years Resolution (I think NYR's suck), but something that came about through one of my 'Self-Stocktakes'.

As you'll probably know if you've been reading this blog for a while, I have quite the dislike for running. No disrespect to those who enjoy it, and I'm not dissing it in any way, it's just soooo not my thing. My first challenge for the year? Run a half marathon, but without doing a load of running in preparation for it. Let me be clear about this, I DID train for it, but in my own way, which involved only running once (or less) per week.

Having very little running experience prior to making this decision (the previous September I challenged myself to run for an hour, and covered 10km. This was double the length of time I had previously run for). In March, having signed up for the half marathon taking place as part of the Tralee international marathon on 16th March, that 1 hour-ish 10km was still my longest ever run. I set my target time at 2:13:00 for the 21km of the half.
Getting a bit apprehensive about my ability to keep running for more than an hour, I went for a run on the 11th, and did 1hr15 of sustainable discomfort, knowing I could have kept going for another while.
On the big day, It wasn't easy, particularly along miles 9-11, where something (self-doubt? limiting beliefs about what i was capable of) kept telling me to slow down and walk, 'just for this bit'. This was a PERSONAL challenge to RUN EVERY STEP of the way, something I was DETERMINED to accomplish! I used my 'lamp-post motivation' technique to keep running, every.single.step!

The result? I smashed my target time by almost 20mins, coming in with an official time of 1:53:33. Next year, I vowed, I'll do the full one.

Having more or less sat on my laurels (and ass if I were to be brutally honest) since the half, I recently came across the Toughathlon, a 10Km, 20 obstacle, military style assault course. With such fittingly named obstacles as the 'claustrophobia crawl' 'electromania' and the infamous 'nipple-popper' I signed up with about a week to go.

On the day, I did better than expected. The first 3-4 km were basically running through marshy farmland, designed to wear out the legs. Surprisingly, this didn't phase me in the slightest!
The result? Finished in about an hour, with bags of energy to spare(though I suspect adrenaline was a big factor in that). I'd have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it, despite(or maybe because of) the crawling through mud and ice, electrocution and frequent high walls.

A self stocktake in the days following that has me thinking that I need something considerably more demanding, both physically and psychologically, to really achieve my goal of kicking the crap outta my comfort zone.

Yesterday, I saw this: http://www.oceanfloorrace.com 260km through desert over 4 days, and thought "that looks like an amazing race for the ultrarunners!" Just to be clear, I don't regard myself as being even a runner, much less an ultrarunner, so I wasn't even remotely considering entering it, simply appreciating it.

But it's funny how things can change overnight..

I can't afford it, I'm nowhere near fit enough, I'm generally uncomfortable in temperatures above 26 degrees Celsius, and being a pasty-skinned paddy, I burn at the mention of sunshine, and yet, in a strange way, for some bizarre reason I can't even begin to fathom, I kinda want to do this...

Do you wake up ALARMED?

I've been looking for little things i can do to improve the way I wake in the morning. It's usually to the alarm on my iphone, and sometimes I feel a bit groggy or stressed when I'm turning off that alarm.

So I've made a little change. I've edited the alarms label, so instead of waking to an alarm that shows

Alarming alarm

I now wake to one that says..

Wake up and be awesome alarm

Remember, turning off the alarm clock is the first (usually) conscious act we make each day. Seeing the get up and be awesome message makes me smile and gets my day off to a better start, than having "Alarm" be the first word to reach my brain. A  very small change, that can have a significant effect on your day. Give it a go, and let me know how you get on.