So...Am I TRAINING yet???

Hey Everyone - Welcome to another week and another weekly blog.  I tried something a bit different last week with 3x blog posts in 4-days just because my head seemed to be exploding with 'STUFF' that I wanted to talk about.  I am not sure whether you guys saw it as a good thing, a bad thing or "couldn't care less" but I would really like a bit of feedback if you feel up to sharing...basically I want to know whether you are happy for me to just write and publish when I feel like it (I will always write on Sunday), or if it is just 'too much' and stick to Sunday and Sunday only?

There is a bit of news from last week's sessions with the 'Rolling Thunder' class happening on Thursday and giving everyone the flexibility to START and FINISH when they like (between 6am and 8am and again between 5pm and 7pm).  Personally I think it was very successful but just so you guys understand what my concerns about the concept are:

1. Giving people the chance to come and go as they please is AWESOME in terms of flexibility...but it also gives people the chance to 'cut-out' before they are really 'DONE'.  I set the class up with back-back-back cardio sessions on purpose and that seemed to correspond with each persons exit point.  ONE lap of the gym was set to be 30-minutes whereas a 'normal' class would be at least 40-mins...
2. Trainer involvement is challenging.  People come in and get started without seeing demos etc because there is no set class start time...so we integrated the 'extra' challenge stations (body weight, abs, core) in an attempt to try and make the sessions as trainer focussed as possible.  But there is a line there somewhere between 'I am being pushed and challenged' and "Again with the burpees/bridge/etc? - f-this, I'm out".  We need to manage this and not allow the workout to become entirely client driven.
3. No demos make it hard to get people through the circuit with complete certainty that what they are doing is what is right...and we want everyone to be doing the prescribed exercises with both competence and confidence...and yes, a trainer is there to help BUT if they are off getting new-starters (after all, there are no late-comers!) going, well, things can be missed.

Pic#1:  My impression of 'Rolling Thunder'!  :-)

So we will be trying a couple of new things in this weeks session to try and make the experience BETTER for everyone involved...as a first off effort I think it was a great success and am confident we can make it even better moving forward!

So - all of that out of the way, on to the topic of the week:  Are you TRAINING yet???  This little topic has come about through watching all of the results that are coming in during our current 'Down with July' process...for anyone who isn't aware, 'DOWN WITH JULY' is our simplest ever challenge and (for me at least) has been the greatest invention ever because it has enabled me to maintain my weight loss/body composition changes achieved during the June 'The Pledge' challenge...we weigh-in each week - if our weight drops, ALL GOOD.  If it goes up, well, there is a self imposed penalty of 100calories/200 calories/400 calories or 800 calories) to complete.  And for me, the idea I might have to do 800 calories on the bike is a pretty big disincentive for eating 'bad things'!

Anyway, of the 40-or so people participating, the results look like this:

Week 1:  1 person penalised

Week 2:  6 people penalised

Week 3:  11 people penalised

So the thing I want to say now those numbers are on the table is that I have some bad news for everyone - training at Round 1 3-4 times each week isn't all that hard.

Which is cause is a bit of an inside joke - our sessions are really tough and there are some days in the gym where even I just ask myself the 'Why do we have to TRAIN so HARD?' question...and I WRITE the session plans.  The problem of course is that our sessions aren't hard ENOUGH to allow you to eat and drink whatever you want the rest of the time...or even from Friday night until Monday morning!  The answer is, if you are REALLY training, well, that means you are looking after your food intake.

I like to think we make life incredibly easy for everyone at our gym.  All you have to do is turn up and we will tell you what to do - and in the 45 minutes or so you are with us you will get an awesome full-body workout that offers awesome bang for your buck.  A trainer will lead you through the session with a group of 'like-minded' people...this basically guarantees a better workout than you could achieve by yourself.  I would go so far as to say that all you have to do is 'SHOW UP' at the gym and we will take care of the rest...further, we bombard you with blog posts like this, videos on social media, you name it - we get in your face reminding you to get your butt to the gym!

Like I say, once you are 'with us', getting your 'exercise' becomes the EASY bit.

And whilst I would like to think we do a great job, neither myself, our coaches or your training buddies can be with you 24x7.  That person in the 4pm session who you always measure yourself against (we all do it!) wont be sitting on the couch next to you after dinner tonight reminding you that OPENING that block of chocolate is a really bad idea...

So somehow, we need to figure out how to HELP you more with your food and eating decisions...because if we were doing it well enough, well, we wouldn't be seeing the scales going up for our 'Down with July' participants.  And my obvious concern is if the scales are going up for people DOING the challenge, well, what the hell is happening for those people who aren't?  I mean, as part of 'Down with July' we provided eating plans and menus and advice and assistance...but people still aren't getting what they want.  Which brings me back to the title of this post - even if you are training in the gym every single day, if you dont have control of your food then you aren't really training and you aren't going to get the success that all your efforts in the gym deserve!

So somehow we need to create a program that truly integrates exercise AND nutrition and get you the outcomes all your efforts in the gym deserve...and we are going to do it.  Our next schedule challenge is SUMMER SLAM in October and that is going to be NEXT LEVEL in terms of nutrition advice, management and setting you up for success...

Getting in the gym and training? It seems that is the EASY part - getting quantities right and off the extra sugar and carbs? Not quite so easy.  But we are going to figure out a way to get you the assistance and help you need!  Stay tuned!