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Mindset

Coaching
General

What Makes a Good Coach

I had an argument with my coach the other week. Except in was just in my head, because I haven’t got that relationship with him where I can actually have an argument. So I had the conversation in my head instead.

This is how it went:

Yes I know I should be doing X and not Y during a jump*
But I can’t actually do it. I’ve tried not to do Y. But it doesn’t work.
I need something else. I need to find the root cause. I need a strategy. I need to break it down. I need a technique.
Just telling me “you did X again” I want you to do Y. It doesn’t work!

Bird that sings
General

I’m a Bird and I Sing

Intrinsic Self-Worth – do you know what that is?

Best explained via a story…

I was being interviewed (I know, right!) by a friend and awesome coach (of the life and business type) recently and I remembered this story I heard.

Egg broken and unhappy
General

The Year of the Coast…

I don’t mean sea views and rock pools.

I mean coasting, as in not really going anywhere.

It’s been exactly one year since my car accident and resultant whiplash.

Blind Sport
General

Sometimes You Can’t See What’s Right in Front of You

Yesterday was a day for humility and meekness.

I went to see my neck consultant and I was properly schooled. We had a detailed conversation about why my neck still causes issues. How I’ve been scaling my training. What rehab I’d been doing and so on. It kindof went like this:

Him: So let’s talk about the last incident that caused discomfort. When was it, what did you do?
Me: It was nearly two weeks ago. I did a box jump session.

Hate January Meme
General

I Hate January

I really do. And it’s not just because the cold and dark. It’s because as a fitness person, it’s supposed to be a high peak month. I’m supposed to cash in on the desperate new-Resolutioners. I’m supposed to have lots of content telling people to join my group or my courses. And my social media feeds are of course full of people telling me to buy their products, join their courses, or their groups…

There’s nothing wrong with this of course. Sellers gotta sell. But there’s a lot of messaging that really winds my up. I spend my time scrolling past adverts / posts going “ugh” and “ffs”….

The Challenge
General

The Challenge is the Challenge

From time to time, I enjoy playing the piano. Some weeks ago I downloaded this particular piece of music (Ludovico Einaudi – Melodie Africana IV ) and tried it out. I was hideous. The piece was pretty complicated and I sucked.
But persisted. I broke it down, I did one hand at a time. I drove everyone crazy repeating the same 8 bars over and over. And eventually it started coming together.
Fast forward 6 weeks or so, and after playing for 5-10 minutes a day, most days, I can now more or less play it proficiently.
And also, I realised yesterday, I’m not actually that interested in playing it anymore.
What’s it got to do with health and fitness I hear you say?

Till Death Do Us Part
General

Is your husband a bad influence?

My dear husband is on holiday atm. I mean he’s allegedly working abroad. But from his Insta it seems there’s just sight-seeing and boozing! So yeah I miss him bla  bla. And the bins-routine has driven me crazy. But I’m also noticing some substantial differences in my daily routine.

Mindset of a champion
Mindset

Mindset of a Champion

Mindset of a ChampionHave you ever heard of Growth theory? This topic, popularised by Carol Dweck, has application in lots of areas. From raising children, excelling at sports and even losing weight.In a nutshell the theory holds that someone who has a fixed mindset will believe that your intelligence, character, ability in sports, etc are what you are born with. They’re unchangeable. People with a fixed mindset tend no to put effort into things: I’m not smart enough, I can’t do it, I haven’t got enough time.People with a growth mindset believe that your basic qualities can be changed. That you can improve through your own efforts. People with a growth mindset are more likely to invest time and effort in to attaining their goals. They are more likely to learn from mistakes or failures, and view life as a continual process of improvement.

own worst critics. 
General

STFU Angela

STFU Angela“Thanks for the kind words, even after a bad weekend”. Said a client to me recently.What else was I to do?See the thing is, typically speaking; you lot are your worst and hardest critics. But does it work? Berating yourself into submission? Criticising ourselves into weight loss? Hating ourselves into putting down the biscuits?No. It absolutely doesn’t.

3 things is one too many
Mindset

3 things is one too many!

3 things is one too many!I have a theory, that I’ve shared a number of times, mostly in the pub after a glass of prosecco.Actually, calling it a theory is a bit OTT. It’s more an observation. It goes like this: in life we are generally able to handle 2 big things. Try to add a third on top, and things normally fall apart.So for example: I can run my business and run the family home. Whenever I try to add a third thing in (which for me is my own training and nutrition) things fall apart. Like, I take my girls to ballet lesson on the wrong day, I run out of food, or I get ill… Again…It happens to me time and time again. But I think I’ve finally learnt the lesson though and I’m learning to recognise the warning signs…