Imagining a dream

Hello my good people and welcome to another glorious week!

Today I thought I'd venture into the land of dreams. Not just those lovely ones that you get before being rudely awoken by the timed bedside light (absolute gold for those who have to wake before the sun - take note!). No, today I'm talking the kind of dreams which actually get you out of bed in the morning rather than keep you in there, clutching and dribbling on the pillow.

At the moment I'm daring to dream about finding a place of my own to live in. Not a grandiose dream in and of itself - although it is something I've longed to try for over a decade now. It's a passing dream as well, since I know that I will do it in the next few weeks since my roommates are moving cities. And I rationally know that when I start living on my own, the excitement will probably wear off after about the 3rd week and I realise that it is about twice as expensive as living with others.

All these things I kinda know already, in my mind.

But what gets me at the moment is the sheer excitement and anticipation that is building!! In the contemplation of being able to indulge in all the weird behaviours that living with others sometimes limits! (And no, just so you know, this more relates to the range of supplements and powders that I consume throughout the day ; the upside-down meditation for 15 mins daily ; and the 9:30 pm bedtime).

It is amazing how much buzz I get on a moment-to-moment basis at the moment just thinking that something long wished-for is within my reach - and it makes the planning all the more fun! I know there's a lot of hard work ahead... rejections perhaps, even disappointments. But I know that when I'm making my YouTube exercise videos from the comfort and privacy of my own little pad somewhere (and I emphasize it will probably be little..!) I know it will all be worthwhile.

In the same way I hope that I can inspire my own clients to feel when they begin training. 

In my mind, everyone is capable of amazing things, and achieving whatever goals they set out to reach. It's my job to help them realise this! I always say truly remarkable change can occur physically within 12-15 weeks - with pretty detailed attention to what you do, eat; how you sleep and how committed you are.

It's the dream that keeps all of these things alive - keeps you charging towards what you want to achieve, with that buzz that just keeps you smiling throughout the day knowing that the end result will all be worthwhile.

So get dreaming a little, and find some way to keep that dream alive on a daily basis, to empower you to eat right, hit the gym or the oval even though you know it might hurt a little. I promise you, the feeling you get when that dream becomes reality is worth every bit of the effort!

TRX basics video!

Hi all,

Just got the link to one of the videos I did covering some TRX basics - and introducing it as a piece of equipment.

Cheers!

TRX - king of the dinsosaurs ... or something like that

Welcome all to the new location for the Life Active blog! Since some movements with the blog hosting service please redirect your browsers (and peepers) to this new page!

What I would like to mention today is the source of a great new yellow-and-black delight in my world : bees! Oh wait, they're delightful but they've been in my world for a few decades now...

No I mean the TRX Suspension trainer!

I had heard about these things a few years back when someone who was working at Golds at the time told me I MUST try one. Such fervour was rarely seen in other gym employees over what sounded simply like some strapping that you attached to a tree and attempted to pull yourself up.

I thought about it infrequently for the next few years until during the recent Fitness Industry convention (FILEX) in late April this year. Filex was for me, a mind-blowing experience: 3 full days of seminars on topics ranging from treatment considerations for diabetes, running a "bulletproof" PT business, to changing attitudes towards fat loss and certain training movements. Against this backdrop, I attended a late afternoon session on Functional Proprioceptive training, which was presented by one of my new heroes - Fraser Quelch.

Fraser went through a completely new theory for how muscles get recruited and for what movements, that integrated whole-body position rather than models for muscular action based on looking at what cadavers did (and they don't really do that much, if you've ever had to look at one). Whereas a bit of our knowledge about muscle actions around joints comes from early studies on cadavers (imagine getting to do the whole "Let's work out what happens when I run an electric current through this slab of meat right here ... " - very Frankenstein-ish!), there is much more that can be learned with modern techniques of 3D motion analysis, biomechanics and EMG.

I won't go into the full detail of what I got out of the session - though "speed skaters" certainly came up - other than a few mentions of this T-Rex device that were occasionally mentioned. When I queried him afterwards about what it was (he was at this point surrounded by a veritable bevy of enthusiastic fitness professionals asking about the T-Rex) it was explained that it was a device that allowed you to use your own bodyweight to provide resistance, for any number of strengthening or fitness routines.

The fitness expo that was running at the same time as the convention had a display of the T-Rex's (I had to avoid eventually discard the notion that it was somehow related to a Tyrannosaurus, otherwise I never would have found the display. Very non-dinosaury as it was). They were unassuming looking creatures, dangling from an extended A-frame without so much as a noxiously-over-muscled arm or bright orange slice of beefcake to demonstrate them ... those who went to the expo will know what I'm talking about!

Suffice to say that within a minute of trying it out in the expo, under the tutelage of one of the exhibitors, I was sold! Whereas it was apparent how you could use it for arms, chest and back, I went straight to the curly question and asked how it could work one's legs... 4 minutes of puffing and aching later, I rocked up to the counter weak-kneed and bought one.

The rest as they say, is history!

I made a commitment that I would give it a thorough go, replacing all my workouts with TRX workouts for 3 weeks. Let me tell you, by the end of the first week I was already starting to feel the difference. Stronger core, check.

More movement and movement freedom through knees and ankles, check.

More flexibility through shoulders and chest, check.

Now five weeks on, I notice improvements in even strange areas, like lower trapezius, gluteus medius (side hips), quads, and especially ankles. By allowing you to reach angles and movements that are otherwise quite difficult with traditional weights, it has improved my joint stability, range of motion and general feeling of control and co-ordination all over!

Whilst it won't be the only piece of equipment I will use, it's now taken a rather permanent appearance in my weekly training - for both myself and clients.

I'll keep you posted on some more of the great results!

I've linked to the TRX blog here: http://community.fitnessanywhere.com/blog

TRX Cool Combo Warm Up: Squat, Row, Curl, Raise