Articles & Resources
At times we all lack motivation or knowledge. We encourage you to use these resources during these times and remind yourself that success is what you do every day to work towards your goals! Our newsletters are packed with lot’s of information (recipes, latest news, client’s corner, nutrition corner etc) and of course the main article which is the title for each newsletter.
If you haven’t already signed up you are more than welcome to at the bottom of this page by letting us know what your email addy is and in the notes write newsletter signup. (and we promise not to sell or pass on any of your details because we hate spam as much as you do!)
Newsletter: Winters Here What will You CHOOSE to do?
It’s that time of year again already when the cold and darkness has set in & winter is looming. I’m finding that so many people are telling me they’re unmotivated with life, attendance at gym is slacking off, energy levels are low and the excuses are running high! As much as I can relate (after all we’re all pretty much in the same boat), it’s also my job to give you a kick up the bum and point out that what your choosing to focus on will be what you get!
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Newsletter: Rehasing an Oldie But Goodie – Find your motivation AGAIN!
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve found that my motivation has completely dropped off the face of the earth and managed to go and bury itself on a far off planet in another solar system! My energy, determination and focus have been completely out of whack! This in turn has meant that my eating hasn’t been as diligent as normal, my exercise regime has slackened off, my water intake has been minimal and I keep putting off my personal development for other “stuff” (shock horror – a personal trainer actually admitting such a thing out loud! hehe).
Newsletter: Muscle V’s Fat
As you would have heard me bang on (and on and on and on about) scales are evil and unfortunately I think that our society gets to hung up on what the ‘magic number’ on the scale says. Although weighing yourself can be a great tool to help keep you on track and motivated it REALLY isn’t the full picture of what’s going on with your weight loss. To understand the full picture you need to be also using the tape measure to get a bigger picture of what’s really going on and here’s why.
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Newsletter: Exciting News…..
I hope that you & yours had a WONDERFUL Christmas and a man in jolly red suit managed to spoil you rotten (after all I’m sure you’ve been good all year hehe!). January is always a great time to get motivated and focused on your health & fitness (particularly if you tended to overindulge and relax a ‘wee bit too much’ over the break). Remember to keep it realistic, so you don’t crash & burn or do an injury and don’t get sucked into quick fixes – in the long term they do more damage than they’re worth. Instead be patient, realistic & build as you go.
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Newsletter: Tired, Rundown, Emotional, Sluggish or Struggling to lose weight?
As we start leading into the festive time one of the biggest killers I see in people’s health & fitness regimes is lack of sleep! It’s one of the most important factors in anyone’s lifestyle, yet it is something that we constantly’ put off & ignore because we have to get stuff done’. Time and time again I see people trying to “push through” lack of sleep, yet then turn around baffled when their body can’t keep up because they’ve run themselves into the ground….
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Newsletter: It’s time to MAN UP!
It’s that time of year again that I seem to be having a lot of the same conversations with well, pretty much everyone. As it’s getting warmer and people are coming out of hibernation they’re starting to realise that the “I’ll start tomorrow because it’s too cold” excuse really hasn’t done them any favours. In fact they’re nowhere near their goals, which is when the mind games begin…..
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Newsletter: Diet Disaster Recovery
I thought that this would be a great article leading into winter as I find this tends to be the time that people ‘fall off the wagon’ because they’re tempted by yummy, warm, energy dense foods that don’t fit into their health & weight loss plans. If you do slip up and overeat (for a day or a week) and jump on the scales, sometimes you can be really shocked with the results. Yes you knew that you overate, but you didn’t realise that it would undo those 2kg you’ve slaved your bum off for! Don’t be disheartened, in this article it explains what’s going on and how to fix it moving forward:
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Newsletter: Parental Responsibility & Obesity in Kids:
I was reading this article and thought that it bought up some great points. Obesity in children is sometimes a topic that’s avoided and people tend to stick their heads in the sand rather than discuss it. The thing I love about this article is even if you’re not a parent there are some great points that you can take on board. Best of all its super short so you don’t have to put off reading it until later.
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Newsletter: How much do you want to change your life?
Being a PT I get to hear a lot of peoples stories, journeys, motivations and excuses. A lot of the time I can sum up in minutes if a person is venting, whinging or really wants to make a change. If a person is looking to make it happen, I’m more than happy to listen and will offer advice and suggestions based on my professional knowledge, my own experiences and information gathered from my clients to help them succeed. My hope is at some point those ideas and suggestions we discussed will help them start to question some of their self sabotaging or unhelpful thoughts and patters that have been hindering them previously.
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Newsletter: The start of a New Year
As we’re now into the second week of Jan, I’m guessing for most that it’s time to head back to work and the daily chaos/routine starts again. Hopefully over the break you had a chance to take some time off, relax and reflect. During that time I hope you have decided that this year you’re going to strive to have balance in your life and make health & fitness a priority.
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Newsletter: Christmas Craziness?
The Crazy Christmas period is upon us and the jolly man will be coming and visiting us very soon. As a Trainer as much as I love this time of year from a personal and motivational perspective, I can also say it’s the most frustrating and sometimes disappointing time of year as well. Why? Because this is the time of year that I constantly see clients who have been working so hard and been so committed to their healthy lifestyle start self sabotaging and undoing
all of their hard work
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Newsletter: Why wait for Catastrophe?
The silly season is rapidly approaching which means life is going to become increasingly hectic. As we had such a great response to the last article from Craig Harper, I thought I’d include another one that is also highly relevant coming into those ‘crazy times’. As we get busier and busier it’s very easy to ignore our health (physical and mental exhaustion), ignore the warning signs and keep putting off looking after ourselves until sometimes it’s too late. My hope is that by reading this article it will get you to think about what you keep sweeping under the rug so that you can tackle it before it becomes a real problem.
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Hey Guys, I’m going to be a little different today and share with you an article that I absolutely love! Craig Harper is a well known PT/Public Speaker/Coach and “all round Fitness Guru” in the fitness industry. He’s got some great opinions that are straight to the point and he definitely does not sugar coat anything! Whether you love him or hate him, I believe that he hits a lot of nerves with people because of his ‘brutal honesty’. I think if you’ve got the courage to look past the emotions he brings up, there is a very important underlying message that needs to be tapped into. Because we allow ourselves to make excuses and get distracted, we tend not to look at what the real issues are. Until you actually look at what’s going on (for real), then you can’t make effective and long term change! So to the article – this month it’s about incidental eating. You guys have heard me bang on enough about it so I thought it was time to bring in some of the big guns 😉
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Newsletter: Change your focus & make it count!
It’s that time of year that’s inevitable – Winter! Peoples motivation tends to stay in bed (even after they’ve gone to work), excuses are more readily available (it’s cold and raining, I don’t need to go to training), tasty yummy comfort foods are easy and quick and everyone is run down and starting to get sick on a regular basis. I find as a Trainer now is a great time to get people re-focusing on what their goals are, before they begin to lapse into old habits & make excuses as to why they “can’t” do something.
So to help you stay on track (and even give it a nice big push) here are some of the most common reasons I see people falling off the wagon 😉
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Newsletter: Why is beating yourself up ok?
I’m getting really frustrated by the amount of people that think that it’s ok to treat themselves like crap, that think it’s ok or cool to put themselves down and beat themselves up for the things that they can’t do. Rather than actually taking a step back and giving themselves credit for the things that they HAVE achieved they get more of a kick out of being negative and making those events so insignificant because they’re too busy telling themselves how much they suck at everything else. Like seriously guys – glass half empty perhaps?
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Quick Fix: Quick Meal Ideas, Upcoming Events & Tees!
It’s that time again. The Easter bunny is going to be going crazy delivering lot’s of chocolate to the kids (and I’m sure that adults too), we’re going to be tempted by all of those hot cross buns and yummy treats. It’s time to beat the same old drum (because it really works!!), and remember that everything is ok in moderation and yes that includes chocolate & hot cross buns! If you deprive yourself of the things you enjoy you’ll never succeed at having a healthy & fit lifestyle. Alternatively if you go overboard and eat everything in sight, you’ll feel so guilty about what you’ve done the downwards spiral will begin. So instead please be sensible about what you choose to eat, and learn to eat the foods you love in moderation so you can stick with your healthy lifestyle long term (and you won‘t have undone all of your hard work)!…
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Newsletter: The Skinny on Fast Food
It’s hot, it’s muggy and the last thing that you can be bothered doing is cranking up the oven to cook. Instead it’s so much easier to grab some fast food on the way home or order in. As a general rule we know that fast food isn’t a healthy option for us (and we know that when we’re ordering it), however do you really understand the impact those ‘quick fix meals’ are having on your goals?…
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Newsletter: The lifestyle choices I’ve made & T-Shirt Competition. Vote now!
Heading into the silly season it’s the time of year we all get so incredibly busy. With all of our work functions, bbq’s, parties and catch-ups with friends and family, it can mean that looking after your health & fitness can literally be the last thing on your mind. Because we feel so rushed and overwhelmed it’s very easy to be tempted to “take some time off and relax” and inadvertently undo all of that hard work you’ve put in over this year. It can also mean that because you’re so busy and tired that you feel like you’re the only person struggling to keep up your health and fitness goals (after all no-one else struggles with those negative voices, impulses to overeat or tells themselves “they can eat that because they deserve time to enjoy it and relax”….– do they?)…
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Newsletter: Whats your excuse?
Being a Personal Trainer it never ceases to amaze me the excuses people come up with as to why they can’t live a fit & healthy life! Right away, I want to define what I think fit and healthy is. I’m not talking about having a 10% body fat ratio or being able to bench press 100kg; my definition of being fit and healthy is having a healthy diet (for the majority of the time); doing regular exercise that gets you huffing, puffing, hurting and sweaty; having a healthy work life balance; taking time out to enjoy the little things in life that we’ll look back at when we’re 70 and will make us smile; and it’s about not being stressed and run down all of the time…
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Quick Fix: Scales will make you FAT & “B is for Beetroot”!
Spring is here. It’s getting warmer and now is the time that everyone wants to quickly lose those winter kilos for summer. As a Personal Trainer it’s great to see people getting active and healthy, however I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating it is to see people getting caught up with what they weigh on the scales, rather than focusing on a healthy lifestyle.
I believe that scales are ONE of the many useful tools available to anyone who wants to lose weight. They keep you on track and accountable if you weigh in on a fortnightly or monthly basis (it’s a great way to catch those extra couple of kilos that have snuck up on you!) However, for anyone that gets caught up and obsessed over a particular number that they want to see on those scales, I believe that it can be incredibly self destructive and will result in them failing to lose weight long term!… Read More
Newsletter: Get the Family Involved
Being a Personal Trainer one of the most common things that I see is people making up excuses as to why they can’t look after their own health and fitness. By the time you’ve been to work, got caught up in the politics (at work and home), looked after the kids, had dinner (which you had to do because all day you’ve eaten badly because you haven’t had time and now you feel exhausted), done the domestic chores, socialised with family and friends, done that extra ‘work’ (that’s sooo important that if you don’t do it the world will blow up)… So honestly after all of that, who can really be bothered?
I understand all of the above. Everyone is busy. Everyone has things that they have to do and many people fall into the trap of putting themselves last. But right now I’m going to challenge you and ask:
If you don’t look after yourself – then who do you expect will?… Read More
Quick Fix: Reasons not to exercise when injured & a great Adzuki Bean Recipe
It’s cold, it’s miserable and you’ll notice that a lot of people are injured or sick which is why I’ve dedicated the Exercise Corner to that very topic. I tend to find alot of people try to ‘push through’ the injury or pain & I want to share my professional advise on what I think you should do during those times.
For our Nutrition Corner this month we’ve been very fortunate in we have an expert nutritionist (Vanessa Foley) helping us out and giving us information on a variety of foods that are both tasty & healthy! Be sure to try out the recipe & let me know what you think!… Read More
Newsletter: Find your motivation AGAIN
* This article was published in Fitness Firsts eNewsletter & also in Network Australia’s Magazine. You can read their copies by clicking on their names above.
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve found that my motivation has completely dropped off the face of the earth and managed to go and bury itself on a far off planet in another solar system! My energy, determination and focus have been completely out of whack! This in turn has meant that my eating hasn’t been as diligent as normal, my exercise regime has slackened off, my water intake has been minimal and I keep putting off my personal development for other “stuff”
(shock horror – a personal trainer actually admitting such a thing out loud! hehe)… Read More
Newsletter: Can you really lose that much weight?
Being that the biggest loser has just finished and the contestants are looking fantastic, I thought it would be quite topical and a great way to answer so many questions you may have about the show. If you’ve been watching you’ve seen the contestants smashing it out in the gym, facing temptations AND becoming fitter, healthier and stronger both physically and mentally. But is it really possible to lose that much weight and keep it off?…. Read More
Update: Wedding Photos & Fun Run Update
Photos from our “big day” & a BIG congratulations to the guys that completed the Run For Kids!
Quick Fix: Why Eating Breakie is important & a Yummy Chicken Wrap Recipe
Now that we’re at the end of March, it is a good time to check in and see how you are going with your Health & Fitness goals. Are you on track? Do you need to revise your plans? And while you’re thinking about your plans, how are you going to survive Easter this year without undoing all your hard work? (The Easter bunny is only 3 weeks away!)
Because so much is happening, be sure to have a look through the Latest Offers & Update section to find out the ‘goss and going’s on’. The Quick Tip we covered off this month is about the importance of eating breakfast and our Exercise Corner is on stretching (however I don’t recommend doing them together hehe)… Read More
Newsletter: I’m exercising but I’m not losing weight?
Quite often I will see people at the gym day in day out but not being able to change their body shape, or drop those stubborn kilos. It’s quite common in people who have a large amount of weight to drop as well as those people that only want to drop the last couple of kilograms. Now there can be a number of reasons contributing to this, however the number one reason that I come across is their nutrition!…. Read More
Quick Fix: Increasing Incidental Exercise & About the GI Index
This month’s Quick Fix I’ve focused on giving you some handy hints to squeeze in that extra exercise (and given you an exercise to do at home) and I have also added some information on the GI Index to give you
more education around nutrition… Read More
Newsletter: Live a Little – Challenge Yourself 
It’s that time of year. People are tired, they’re run down and they’re starting to unwind and relax, which is why I thought it’s timely to remind you about challenging yourself every now and then. As you know, my training philosophies are about more than “food and exercise”. I believe you need to have a healthy balance in your life that is realistic and something that you can maintain. If one aspect of your life is completely out of balance, how long do you think you can maintain it for?… Read More
Quick Fix: Why drinking water is important, Fresh or Frozen? & Finding Motivation
Due to such a fantastic response I have decided to ramp up the frequency of these newsletters. Special thanks to my fan club for the great feedback about previous newsletters ;-). Now there will be two types of newsletters you will receive. One will have a featured article and updates to educate and motivate you to maintain your healthy lifestyle. The other will be called ‘Quick Fix’ and will have tips and information to keep you on track… Read More
Article: What is a healthy eating attitude?
One of the topics that I spend the majority of my time discussing with clients is nutrition. This makes sense as nutrition is a major factor to creating a healthy and balanced lifestyle.
A lot of people make the assumption that they‘re eating healthily because they don’t eat junk food every night. Most of the time that’s not the case, being healthy is about looking at everything that you choose to eat (yes that includes the incidental things as well). Nutrition also plays a vital role in your energy levels… Read More
Quick Fix: Why Diets & Quick Fixes DONT WORK!
Eek – Another month has passed. It’s spring and you can feel summer is coming! By now the panic may have set in because you’ve realised that it’s warming up and soon it’ll be shorts, skirts and singlet attire in no time. To help motivate you and get you pumped for summer (and lead you away from temptation) I’ve written an article on “Why Diets & Quick Fixes Don’t Work”… Read More
Article: All or nothing – It just doesn’t work!
Are you one of the millions of people out there who has an “all or nothing attitude”? You’re fired up, you’re
motivated and you have a brilliant goal that you must achieve at all costs! You are 100% dedicated to achieving it
and nothing is going to stop you or get in your way. You live and die by the motto: “If I can’t do it 100% then there
is no point doing it at all!”
In the past when you’ve attempted your goals, you’ve been so good; you were gunning it and then BAM!
Something happened and you fell off the wagon. Everything crashed around you. Your training became lazy (if
you even continued doing it?), your eating was terrible and your will power became nonexistent. No matter how
hard you tried to get that motivation back to the way it was, you just can’t!… Read More
Article: Understanding Calories & Weight Loss
Counting calories can sometimes be a daunting thing. Not understanding how much food you need to be eating to lose weight, how much exercise you need to be doing can sometimes make the weight loss process frustrating and slow.
To lose weight you need to understand the relationship between the food that you are putting into your body as opposed to the “energy” you exert through exercise and the daily activity you are doing… Read More
RESOURCE: Daily Nutrition & Exercise Log
An easy to use diary that will help you to track your execise and nutrition intake for the day.