“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect” – Mark Twain.
This is a powerful quote for all of us to think about in many areas of life but also includes health and fitness.
What are the majority of people doing this January for their health and fitness? Most have decided that they will hit the gym hard, diet and make other lifestyle choices to lose weight, gain muscle etc etc. Did you know that current research shows that around 92% of those people will fail themselves?
Is this their fault? In a word, no. Of course they want to make a difference and improve themselves but the ones that fail are the ones that haven’t thought it through with a plan. First they need real motivation, get down to why they’re doing it in the first place and then focus on your confidence about achieving it.
Some tips on the why here (last years blog):
The confidence comes from having the plan to achieve it (more on that here):
I want you to try this in 2018 (I promise it’ll be worth it):
Training can become tiresome to those of you who don’t particularly like it. But there are physical activities that you do or will like, everyone that can move will enjoy something. Movement is life so it’s a fact.
Choose and focus on your most loved activity and if you don’t have one, choose a new one. This could be one you used to play in school, something you tried once and loved or even something that has been in the back of your mind for years but never tried! Choose it, then use that inspiration to get your conditioning moving in the right direction. Every gym session can be to enhance your sport performance or chosen enjoyable activity. This will make every session more enjoyable than any you’ve had in the past because of your association to what you love. Get into the details and your training will come alive! It really works.
Something I stay in shape year round for is surfing of various forms. Recently my buddy Adam and I experimented with something we hadn’t done before, an artificial wave pool. Although nothing beats the ocean experience for us, this was a lot of fun and spurs me on to get in the ‘boring’ swimming pool to keep my water fitness up!
Showtime! The old boys were back in action with the bodyboards, long boards, short boards and up to their usual performance with hoots and hollers from the crowd… Unfortunately they wouldn’t allow us to wear the head cam so the footage we did get was limited due to having to hold the GoPro.
There were 3 points to take off, advanced, intermediate and beginners.
Surprisingly the speed at certain sections was impressive, we managed to almost hit the central column a few times while coming out the power pocket
A little sequence of a fast spin on the bodyboard. Spins and air rolls were pretty easy as the wave repeats in a similar way
Adam coming off the bottom turn to race the section
Heading full speed after coming off the bottom towards the barrier
Whether it be Hiking, Jujitsu, Running, Marathons, Rock climbing or even Motorcycle racing, use these things as your ultimate inspiration for transformation. Boy does it work!
Enjoy the journey,
Rupert Hambly
