Nothing is achieved in your comfort zone!

If there is one thing I can guarantee, it is that as a coach or trainer nothing is achieved in your comfort zone. Let’s put your training to one side for now and look at some other things you may come across in life.

If you want to get promoted at work, you wouldn’t expect it to happen by sitting in the corner not getting noticed; you would go the extra mile, work harder and take on extra responsibility to show that you are capable of more. 

If you wanted to start a business, you wouldn’t wait around for it to happen; you’d take a risk by borrowing money or investing your savings into the project, knowing that you are going to have to be uncomfortable before you succeed.

The same is true of your training and nutrition goals – sometimes you need to suck it up and put yourself in a place that you know is going to take extra effort and preparation, is going to need sacrifices and at times is going to take some mental toughness to succeed. But if you have a goal that is intrinsically important to you, the overwhelming positive feelings that come with reaching that goal will far outweigh the temporary pain along the way.

I’ll give you an example. I am currently putting myself through a regime of training and nutrition with the goal of reducing body fat. Those who know me, or have read my articles before, will know that I am not usually bothered with aesthetic goals. However, recently I have slipped too far into my comfort zone and my training has been purely based around things that I enjoy – picking up heavy things for low reps. My nutrition has also slipped into comfort and I have allowed myself too much variety, which has ended up with me overeating for a number of months, resulting in 3kg in extra weight (not all muscle) and a general feeling of sluggishness.

To get myself back on track and firmly step out of my comfort zone, I have done the following:

• Written myself a fitness plan that includes higher volume and more conditioning work – or in lay terms: things I find difficult and don’t enjoy.
• Put myself on a regimented nutrition plan with restrictions and a process to follow. This curbs my natural enthusiasm for variety and will instil some discipline over a set time period (I am still allowing variety in what I eat, but am planning it in advance – even self-inflicted rules can provoke rebellion in me!).
• Set myself a body composition goal. This is totally different from my usual performance goals.

This of course is all personal to me and I would never suggest that my goals should be your goals, but here are a few things you could look at to help you break out of your comfort zone and revamp your training goals. 

Work harder. Are you coasting through your workouts without really breaking a sweat? If so then you need to ramp up the intensity of what you are doing and make sure you are coming out of the gym knowing that you pushed out every possible rep.

Change routine. If you have got used to doing exercises a certain way then change your routine. This doesn’t always mean completely new exercises, but could mean changing rep range, shortening rest periods or using different forms of the same move (front squats instead of back squats for example). If you like gentle cardio sessions, then try some high intensity work. If you like body building, try some calisthenics instead. The choice is yours.

Go public with your goals. Nothing makes people more uncomfortable than pressure from your peers. Tell people what you are going to achieve and put a time limit on it. Saving face is enough to make sure you achieve your goal.

Try an elimination diet. An elimination diet puts you more in touch with how you feel about food. Many people have forgotten what it’s actually like to function at 100% and do not even realise that common ailments such as fatigue, headaches, skin rashes, blocked nose, excess gas, feeling bloated – to name a few – are most likely caused by what you are eating. An elimination diet removes the most common contaminates from your diet (wheat, gluten, dairy, alcohol and processed food) over a period of 30 days and allows the body to reset and become energised naturally. It’s hard, but totally worth it!

Create some new habits. Breaking habits depletes will power and is an inefficient way of changing behaviour. Creating new habits on the other hand has been shown to be a really successful way of entering into a change cycle. Watching new TV shows; getting your news from a new media outlet; trying new foods; starting a new hobby – anything that makes you fire up some new brain activity is going to be mentally healthy for you and will enrich your life and have a positive effect on your overall motivation levels.

 I’m going to leave you with one of my favourite quotes that sums all of this up nicely:

“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Albert Einstein

Stay healthy!

10 character traits of healthy people

1. They sleep enough. 

Did you know that sleeping less than 7 hours per night makes it 3 times more likely that you’ll catch a cold? Not only that, people who don’t get enough sleep are likely to eat more due to the fact their leptin (an appetite hormone) levels fall, promoting an appetite increase. So, forget watching that late movie, get an early night and start reaping the rewards of a full night’s sleep.

2. They plan their meals.

Have you ever made the mistake of food shopping when you are hungry? That’s right; you end up with a basket full of high sugar or convenience foods that do nothing for your waistline. For some people planning meals sounds boring and time consuming, but it actually helps you make healthier choices, regulates your portion size and is great for long term health.

3.  They exercise without being told by their trainer.

Scheduling in regular sessions with a PT is the best way to make sure you have an effective exercise programme. However, the healthiest people and those who achieve the most results don’t just rely on 1 or 2 hours per week of exercise; they find time for extra gym sessions, yoga classes or go that extra mile to be as active as they can every day.

4.  They set themselves exercise goals.

For some exercise is a chore and for some exercise is something that just needs to be ticked off in the diary, but for the healthiest people there needs to be a goal. Not because they want to continuously break records, but because they understand that it makes it more exciting and gives the sessions structure and purpose, which stops them giving up.

5. They always ask questions.

Why is it that many people stop asking ‘why?’ after they leave school? If we just accept things as fact without finding out why or how, then you never really learn for yourself. Healthy people want to understand how to improve their health. They read books and newspaper articles, they ask health professionals for advice and are willing to research the latest facts on health and wellbeing.

6.  They eat fatty foods.

Fat, particularly saturated fat, has been demonised for decades as the cause of cardiovascular disease and obesity. Finally, the mainstream media are beginning to spread the word that fatty foods, such as oily fish, avocados, nuts, seeds and coconut oil, are full of the essential nutrient required for energy, regulation of hormones, and absorption of minerals and protection of the immune system. Healthy people have known this all along and live by the mantra, “fit people eat fat”.

7. They’re always trying new things.

Humans are habitual by nature; it’s an evolutionary mechanism that has helped us survive by staying safe and conserving energy. But we live in a very different environment these days and it’s much safer to break out of your comfort zone and reap the healthy rewards. Healthy people eat a variety of food; they try new activities and are always looking to seek ways of stimulating their mind to look after their mental and emotional health.

8. They drink alcohol in moderation.

There have been some studies out recently that have shown that drinking alcohol in moderation can help reduce the risk of heart attack, particularly with certain red wines (Sardinian and Sicilian), even compared against those who don’t drink. The key word though is moderation. There won’t be many reading this who don’t get drunk sometimes and that’s fine. It just has to be sometimes, not all the time, not even every week. Healthy people know how to let their hair down too; it’s just not the only way they unwind.

9. They laugh often.

According to Dr Michael Miller, a cardiologist from Maryland, laughing for 15 minutes per day has the same positive effect on blood flow and dilation of the arteries as 30 minutes of exercise – that’s not even mentioning the positive effect it has on your mood and mental health. So, if you want to keep your health on track then make sure you get your daily dose of comedy!

10.  They manage stress well.

Healthy people don’t bottle up their emotions; they seek out people to talk to or find a healthy way to channel the tension. They don’t run themselves into the ground physically; they receive regular massage, osteopathy or whatever drug-free method is needed to make sure they’re pain-free. Healthy people are aware of how environmental pollutants can adversely affect health, so eat clean food and use paraben-free beauty products. So whether your stress is emotional, physical or environmental, for a healthier life it’s important you recognise it and learn how to deal with it.

Stay healthy!!