STRESS + PAIN = STRESS = PAIN PART 2: STRESS CULTURE

STRESS CULTURE

There are 2 main types of stress the body undertakes.

Every little thing you do PHYSICALLY stresses the body in some way. Walking to the letterbox induces little stress so it requires little time and resources to recovery from. 

Going for a 5km run induces a moderate amount of stress in most cases, and requires some time and (energy) resources, to recover from. 

An interval sprint training session with short to moderate rest will induce huge amounts of fatigue and will take plenty of time (48 – 72hrs) and resources to recover from. 

We have fallen into a fatigue based training model these days with Crossfit-type training facilities opening up on every corner. 

Fatigue is required to make progress but only as much fatigue as you can recover from.

Every time a decision has to be made, it can induce MENTAL stress. 

Like physical stress, the level of decision, or the consequences of that decision if it isn’t the right one, can affect your mind and body on different levels.  

These days work is akin to the fatigue model of training above – it’s all about how much work you can complete and how many hours you can put it and it’s actually frowned upon to not think like that.

So if you’re putting in 80hrs of work a week, making huge decisions with huge implications and following a high fatigue model of training to boot, then your stress level will be ridonckulous! 

The “immediateness” age we live in, with instant connection and access to information and people around the world, means we never really have time to rest and recuperate like the old days.

The body doesn’t really recognise what type of stress you’re under (mental or physical), but it does tale a lot of notice of the amount of stress you're under.

Once your stress cup fills up then something has to give and the more stress you keep adding without recuperation, the further away you move from homeostasis which is your “personal baseline.”

The brain perceives this high stress as a threat to the body and thus puts some interventions in to try and conserve energy, such as shutting off muscle groups and altering posture to make locomotion more energy efficient. 

It also activates your sympathetic nervous system which is the fight side of your fight or flight mechanism. 

The sympathetic nervous system gets activates in times of stress by increasing alertness, heart/breathing rate etc.

So if your resting heart rate is 50 beats per minute and your blood pressure is 120/70 at rest, then in times of stress you might be starting your day at 55 beats per minute and a blood pressure reading of 125/75, so your starting point is slightly higher which leaves you with less wiggle room when you do not recuperate.

This all leaves you working much harder then you should be for daily tasks using less than stellar posture and movement efficiency, which can result in pain, injury and the dreaded “threw my back out picking up a pencil” syndrome.

Stress pretty much is the root of all evil and it’s not that you shouldn’t induce stress, but once you do then you need recuperate from it before adding more stress into your cup.

The biggest issue with this is that stress negatively effects immunity and once you’re sick then everything listed above is amplified.

 Everything you do requires more energy to complete, pain spots re-emerge from nowhere, this induces more stress and again you’re pushed further away from your homeostasis point.

Coming Up: Part 3 - Central Nervous System

STRESS = PAIN = STRESS = PAIN AND IT NEVER ENDS...OR DOES IT?

Does this sound like you?

You get up in the dark.

You do work before duties/emails before you even leave the house.

Even though you’re up and already “working’ while it’s still dark, you still feel the need to get to work early to “get a jump on the day.”

Once at work you bounce from meetings to returning emails to conference calls to more emails to another late meeting while in between having a quick bite to eat “on the run.”

You leave work in the same way you got there (in the dark), fight your way through traffic or public transport and fall in the front door.

You organise a quick but sub-par dinner while again catching up on all the work you actually missed doing when you were at work!

Not long after midnight, and still thinking about work, you hit the sack but you’re brain won’t stop thinking about the presentation you gotta finish up tomorrow that you barely started.

After what seems like 5mins, you’re alarm goes off and it all starts again.

Every event that happens to you throughout the day induces some form of stress.

As you’ll soon read, stress can be positive or negative but make no mistake about it, it is there.

All the time.

Stress is incurred mentally (think going through a divorce) and physically (think high work load) but all the body knows is stress and how much of it there is, regardless of its form.

The implications of carrying too much stress is HUGE, as you’ll soon find out. And the trail of destruction it can leave can cause long term issues.

If you know of, or you are someone with a chronic illness or in chronic pain, then I want you to think back through your life and the amount of stress you’ve been under.

I haven’t ran the studies on this but chances are you could pin point certain times of your life that caused great stress and that stress can stay with you long after the event, or issues, has been resolved.

Long term this can decrease immunity and feed pain signals so your body stays under this high amount of stress and when it all compounds, you’ll eventually break down.

Over the next few weeks we’re going to cover the big issues at play here and their implications:
- Stress Culture
- Central Nervous System
- Diaphragmatic Breathing

We’ll also dive a little into some other aspects that can affect your quality of life as well some interventions you can implement to keep you stress free for longer.
- Be Activated
- Pain Science
- Heart Rate Variation
- Spoons Analogy

This will be a 10 - 12 part series which was I originally put together as a book but I feel everyone needs to be aware of this stuff so I'm giving it away!

Please feel free to comment if any of this resonates with you and please share around to your friends that could also be assisted by reading this.

ONLINE TRAINING PROGRAMS MADE SPECIFICALLY FOR YOU!!

Finally, a place where you can get a training and nutrition plan made for you and you only by a professional!

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Which one of these people are you?

The "Aimless Gym Wanderer" Type

What Gives You Away: You pretty much go from one piece of training equipment to another after each set of exercises, not really doing anything more then once. Often seen with a puzzling look on his face and their bank account $600 or lighter from a waster gym membership.

The "I'll Motivate Myself" Type

What Gives You Away? It's plain to see that you need some work. Your friends keep trying to pull you to their training sessions but you maintain the old "I have some stuff at home I'll just use that" line. Except for the cob webs covering your old training equipment in the corner from their lack of use, and you're lack of dusting!

The "Following Men's Health" Type

What Gives You Away? The awkward looking technique on back squats you display because you're posture doesn't really allow you to do them properly but this month's Men's Health said to do back squats so you feel that you must do them. Even if you can't get out of bed tomorrow morning!

The "I'll Start Next Week" Type

What Gives You Away: You first said this in 2009.

Regardless of what type you are I may have the solution you're looking for.

Cost effective personal training? Tick.

Programs made by a professional personal trainer with my limitations all taken into account? Tick.

Support and Accountability to ensure success? Tick, Tick, Tick!

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A program that is going to delver results for you must be tailored specifically to you. It's very hard to get the results you want from someone else's program or even worse, a one size fits all program.

And it's a good way to get yourself injured!

Well you now you don't have to do any of that and simply hope for the best anymore.

Start the process of getting your specifically tailored training program by clicking here NOW!!

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Real Men Need Only Apply

Real men - where are they all? (hint: HERE) 

Real men aren't the one's that can drink the most, eat the most or take the most pain.

Real men look after themselves.

They set examples for their kids and those around them by keeping strong, keeping fit and keeping manly!

Take a walk down the street in a minute and do a quick consensus.

Count the blokes who have "gut overhang" versus those that don't.

It's probably not even close.

Have a close look at yourself now and be honest.

Are you anywhere close to what you used to be?

Would your high school mates recognise you in the street?

Do people often think you're actually older then you look?

Are there physical endeavors you used do each and every day 15 years ago without even thinking but now they're on the 'won't try" list?

It's time to turn back the clock.

It's time to reclaim your speed, your strength and you're movement efficiency.

It's time to reclaim your manliness.

I know a fair a bit about you already.

You're in your 30's.

You remember when footy was dominated by big forwards kicking bags of goals every week.

You remember when One Day Internationals was the best cricket to watch, especially when Dean Jones was at the crease.

You remember the spike of basketball with Michael Jordan winning everything in site and Shaquille O Neal about to take over the mantle of the best player on earth.

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Vanilla Ice, Happy Pants, Gladiators, 90210, NKOTB, Agro, Mariah Carey, Undercuts, the Terminator...the list is endless.

I know you were in to all of these at some stage because I am you.

I'm 35, run a business, have a small family, a wife on disability and still play competitive football.

And so can you.

I know the time constraints you have.

I know there is only so much energy to go around with such a busy family and work life.

And I know that exercise and diet probably isn't at the top of that list.

You can't 'buy' health. You need to practice it, and practice is best done everyday.

You need to be able to run around with your kids.

You need to get lean and healthy to offset health issues now and in the future (because you need to work another 30 years at least before you can get the pension!)

You need to learn to eat better because your children will eat like you eat - I mean they have to don't they?

And that's not fair to them.

You might use the excuse that you don't know how to fit to exercise into your day. You might say you don't what and when to eat certain foods. You might think you can't exercise without having to go to the gym every single day.

At the end of another long day they're just more excuses. More excuses to let you slip further and further away from anything resembling a man.

From one man to another I can help you. I WANT to help you.

I want every man to start up sport again. I want every man to look the best he ever has. I want every man to be able to run down cheetah's and lift trucks off old lady's!

I want every man to be a real man. To be All Man.

Yeah, so you understand all the above, right? And I KNOW you do, because you're a 30 something father/professional just like me. The ONLY difference between you and me? I got the Knowledge AND I got the balls to get up and help men like you Every. Single. Day.

The next 7 days can go one of two ways from this moment right now.

You can "Homer Simpson it" and let your lame old attitude drag on and on until your doctor's secretary knows you by first name from regular visits...

or;

You  can "Barney Stinson it" AKA CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

The challenge? Give me total control of your next 7 days.

Yeah, that's what it takes to get a noticeable improvement to your health, fitness and sex life.

Pizza or click the damn link: You choose manhttp://bit.ly/1sNxCNc.

Be the man you were or want to be before it's too late.

Because you're worth it!

5 Ways Online Personal Training Can Work for YOU!

Last week we gave you 5 Ways to Increase Your Exercise this Winter which we hope you have been able to plan to, or even better already implement already.

On the back of that post we now give you 5 tips on how online personal training can work for you.

We are very close to releasing our very own online personal training software and it could be your answer to finally developing consistent exercise and nutrition practices because it can do for you what you want it to do instead of being locked into times, days and exercises that you're not quite into.

#1 - Stop Wasting Money

You've probably got a gym membership that basically goes to waste each and every year. You've tried to cancel it but like a serial pest you just can't get rid of it unless you turn up to an interview, perform a magic trick and then skull a jar of Tabasco sauce and then they'll think about it!


Here's your alternative - look into online personal training to do what they won't - develop a tailored training program for YOU. All you'd need to do is let your online trainer know (I know a very good one..wink, wink) what you want, how many days you want to be there you're off and running.

You already have the equipment available, you already have the motivation to go (actually make use of the 100's of dollars you've already forked out) so you might as well make a go of it.

If you're a home trainer then the same applies, brush the dust off the weights in the corner you've forgotten how to use and allow them to fulfill their fat burning and muscle building destiny.

#2 - Train at Your Own Convenience



You already have the equipment available, you already have the motivation to go (actually make use of the 100's of dollars you've already forked out) so you might as well make a go of it.


If you're a home trainer then the same applies, brush the dust off the weights in the corner you've forgotten how to use and allow them to fulfill their fat burning and muscle building destiny.


As a biz owner, father and carer for my wife I know how valuable time is and I am also aware that 24hrs is often not quite enough hrs in a day!


This puts your training time at a premium so going the online route means that you can train when it suits YOU and not your trainer.


Having our very own online training software means our online clients have 24hr access to all their workouts and nutrition so you can make your training and nutrition work around YOU, not the other way around.

Make whatever time you get free as valuable as it can be!


#3 - Low Cost, High Reward



We are well aware that paying for training (gym membership, bootcamp etc) is classed as a luxury item for most people and when times get tough financially, it can be one of the first things that is culled.
Although that is just life the downside is that you have taken away the 1 thing that will do more for you over the long term then anything else!

If you are a member of a chain gym then they also want you to pay on top of the 100's you've forked out already, to hire a personal trainer just to get a decent program put together.

Online personal training is far cheaper then hiring an actual personal trainer if cash flow is a bit low - for what you can pay for a single 1on1 session in a gym you could get 4 weeks of programming tailored to you, your nutrition all laid out for you and you can also join a community if like minded people all striving various health and fitness goals!

Do the math - its a no-brainer!

#4 - Accountability / Motivation


You can have the world's greatest program and you can have the world's greatest nutrition plan but without accountability and motivation, they're both just another piece of paper with words and stuff on them.


Results are achieved by what you get done and what you complete.


Our online personal training system is a 2 way operation. I set up your training and nutrition for you to see and implement and then I can look back see what you've completed and what you haven't.

I'll pull you up on missed assignments and with our monthly catch ups (Skype, Google Hangouts etc) I'll be expecting some pretty realistic responses!

When you join up to our program you don't just join a program but a community. A community of like minded people with goals just like yours. This system allows you to interact with each other by sharing your idea's and experiences to develop this community into the ultimate support team!

#5 - It's Still PERSONAL Training

A lot of online set ups are automated programs with a 1 size fits all approach which inevitably leads to issues with space, time, equipment and learn-ability (it's a word trust me!)

The way our online personal training works is that you first provide us with some information in regards to those points above and then we know exactly what we're working with.

This results in a program made for YOU with only YOU in mind, not something developed for the masses.

The nutritional component also has the ability for you to log in any specific eating requirements you have and it also works out the correct amount of calories you require and outs them all in a meal plan so it cuts out all the time consuming stuff.

5 Ways to Increase Your Exercise this Winter

Another day of dark and rainy weather and it's time to have a few discussions about your training going forward. 

You get it pretty easy over the warmer months with the ability to go outside and do a run with some strength exercises thrown in anytime you like but now with the darker and shorter days, you need to alter that plan.

Maybe our winter promo video resonates with you:

Tip #1 - Schedule It into Your Day

Make exercise a priority, right up there with doctor, dentist and shopping. Schedule it into your calender and hold that appointment like you would all the others. 

If you're a procrastinator and at the end of the day it just doesn't happen, then this is a must for you!


Tip #2 - Use Shorter but More Intense Training Sessions
 
Training does not have be done for a specific amount of time to have an effect, it's all about intensity!


Now I think we all know that the more intense you train, the shorter amount of time you can train and maintain that intensity so shorter sessions can be a god sent in this regard.

Don't be scared off by intensity, it the magic pill for fat loss but not every session needs to be like this, use them when you are short on time then do your other, longer sessions at a moderate to high intensity.

Tip #3 - Utilise Your TV Time

When you watch your favorite TV shows instead of fast forwarding through the ad breaks, set up a small circuit and do that while they are on.

You'll normally get 5 - 6 x 30 second ads so set a circuit of 5 - 6 exercises and do 1 exercise for the duration of each ad.

By the end of a 1 hour TV show you'll have done near on 20 minutes of pretty high intensity exercise.

Tip #4 - Find a Training Partner

Finding a training partner can break down the barrier of 2 of the most underrated training mishaps - accountability and motivation (or a lack there of).

Making yourself accountable to a friend could be the greatest you, and your, friend can do for each other.

It's easy to cancel to yourself but it's damn hard to cancel on someone that is relying on you just as much as 
you are relying on them.

Tip #5 - Hire a PT

Piggy backing off the previous point a stronger point of accountability is a cancellation fee. 

Most, if not all personal trainers will now have a cancellation policy in place so if you schedule a session and miss it, then you still pay for it.

If losing cashola isn't a good enough deterrent to keep up your exercise, I don't know what is!

Hopefully these tips keep you on your merry way of fitness but if you have any other tips the let us know through our Facebook page.

Minimise the Damage

So our last 2 posts have given you an outline if what you can do to drop 3 – 5kgs between now and Christmas. If you have started and are still on the plan, then keep doing it!!

If you haven’t then you probably missed the boat to dropping those type of numbers so it’s time to start looking forward to 2014.

The best thing you can do between now and Jan 1^st, is to minimise the damage. Set yourself up now to be able to enjoy the festive season without worry so that when you reach Jan 1^st and time to get in shape (again!!), you can start from a neutral position, not in 5kgs in red from an out of control December.

So as well as taking up the points from out previous 2 post’s, here’s another one you can implement and it’s pretty easy.

Don’t have a cheat meal if you haven’t trained that day.

SIMPLE!!

December can be choc-full of lunches and dinners with various break ups and events, but this simple rule will at least have you earning your cheat meals.

This will work in 2 ways.

1 – If you have a planned event on a day, lunch or dinner, then make sure you train THAT day.

2 – If you’re just out and about then eat clean if you haven’t trained that day.

This rule will work best if you make the right decision of where you are right there and then. Don’t think “I’ll have this cake and train later” because we all know how that goes don’t we...

Now when I say training, I don’t mean a leisurely walk at lunch time. You need to actually be out of breathe to the point that you can’t hold a normal conversation.

Walking is only good if you’re doing everything else perfectly in regards to training and nutrition. It does minimal on its own.

Make the effort TODAY and have a guilt free Christmas!