November 2016 Issue N1
5)& 5*.&
HEALTH LIES AND GETTING INTO SHAPE
MYTH BUSTING Keeping the Challenge
ALIVE OVER THE HILL?
FLATTEN THE HILL
I am excited to share with you the contents of this newsletter. The purpose is to get you thinking about your health and lifestyle choices. Our desires, thoughts and attitudes affect our health. So exercising is more than programs, sets/reps, movements. It's just as much about framing and reframing our thoughts and feelings over time. A well framed mind and heart enables safe and enjoyable exercise and sustainable good health. The fitness journey is physical, mental and spiritual. Some of the things that you will have to do may simply be refining or recommitting to what you know works in your life. Other things you will need to do will be completely different because what you are doing has not been working. I hope you can find something in this and future publications that inspires you to make one or a few changes in your life to help you move closer to your goals. In order to pack a punch I have asked a number of other people, whom I respect and admire to contribute their thoughts and words of wisdom. A big thank you to each of them. (Virakone)
Myth Busting
The benefit of being around other supportive individuals is that their repeated encouragement
by Stuart Hale. On the journey to improve one’s health, it is impossible nowadays to escape the finely
builds self-belief that you can in fact achieve your desired goals. It pulls you through those tough
honed skills of the health and fitness marketing professionals who conjure up ever more ingenious
times and the longer the support is there, the more gains you will make and ultimately this
ways to lure unsuspecting people into their intricate webs of diets and fitness programs.
becomes a self-sustaining loop.
Well, today, I’m busting the myth. (Spoiler alert!)
managed set of healthy routines are, however, not available in ‘off-the-shelf’ packages (i.e. diets
Long term health has far less to do with diets and exercise programs and a whole lot more to do with changing habits and getting support. Yes, these highly educated marketing professionals have been spruiking the wrong stuff! For too long, the accepted convention was that if you wanted to get healthy you needed a diet and an exercise program – all very much addressing the physical aspects of improving one’s health. However, what has been significantly overlooked is that finding a new diet or exercise program is one thing; actually
A supportive environment and an actively
and programs). A good trainer or coach can certainly provide you guidance on how to live a healthier life but ultimately you need to implement the necessary changes and to put yourself in an environment where you will be supported. If your reason for improving your health is strong enough, and you set yourself up in such a way that you don't undertake the changes entirely on your own, you will no longer need
implementing it (and sticking with it) is another.
bucket loads of motivation and willpower. Consistently running your new routines with
It seems reasonable for people looking to make
external support will create a self-sustaining cycle which will help you achieve the long term
healthy changes in their lives that they get themselves some exercise and nutritional guidance and start following the prescribed instructions. The issue, however, is that past habits never really disappear, so people who have fallen out of a healthy lifestyle, or never had one to begin with, have entrained ‘unhealthy’ habits such as couch surfing while sinking 3-pointers in their mouths with M&Ms. So, once the early motivation and willpower to get healthy wears off, these long entrained habits can reappear. The good news, however, is that new habits can be learned which can override other (less helpful) ones if they are repeated often enough. But, research suggests that new habits on their own are not enough. A key ingredient to making these new habits or routines stick is the support of others. Be that a partner, a coach or training buddies.
health goals you desire. Stuart - husband, dad of two, Wellness Coach and one of our long standing members.
KEEPING THE CHALLENGE ALIVE by Meg Garrido When I was asked to write an article for the Crossfit Manly Vale article my first thought was “What could I possibly write about?� You see I am far from the fittest or strongest member of the box and am definitely not the best at any movement or the fastest at any WOD. So, what could I contribute that would be of interest to current, past and possible future members? Then it dawned on me. Having been a member of CFMV for over 4 years, I know that I am one of the longest serving members of the box. I have seen two box moves, one name change, many coaches coming through and made a huge amount of friends. I joined Crossfit North Manly as it was formerly known in mid-2012. I had no Crossfit experience, although I had good cardio fitness having run 4 half marathons in the months prior to signing up. I decided that I wanted to get stronger and was convinced by a friend to come along and have a try.
I was of course a bit anxious. I was moving from something that I found easy, running 5 times a week, to an activity which I knew would be a challenge. When I looked up Crossfit workouts on YouTube and saw the athletes banging out push ups, ring dips and heavy snatches I felt a bit intimidated and was well aware that I was a million miles from being able to perform any of those movements. And whilst I have mastered some of the movements there are still many more that I have not, or that I have to improve upon. So, what is it that has kept me coming back? What has kept me as a loyal member of CrossFit Manly Vale? 1. Finding a Coach who you enjoy working with!
Throughout the four years almost all of the coaches at CFMV have been great to work with. Training with someone who is both inspiring and fun makes it easy to turn up. If you have a good coach then you know that you are getting the best out of your sessions.
I know that on the rare occasion when there was a coach who I didn’t gel with for whatever reason, it is much harder to find the motivation to get to the sessions and it is difficult to respect the advice that they give you.
A good coach who knows you and you enjoy working with is worth their weight in gold. 2. Finding a time/ place/ group that works for you. The 5am weekday session is definitely my training “home”. Getting up at 4.30am and knocking over a session before my children wake up around 6am works perfectly for me. I never have any conflicting invitations for that time, so other than tiredness or illness it is hard to find an excuse not to attend. The box is an easy 4 minute drive or 15 minute walk from home with parking right by the door. Again, it is hard to make an excuse not to go due to the commute. And my training buddies. Often
on the days when I am almost issuing myself with a pass to stay in bed, it is the people that I train with who bring me to the session. Despite the early hour we are (mostly) all chatty and ready for a bit of fun. We are different ages, at different stages and of different abilities, but that matters not. We turn up, we train and we have fun. If we don’t see someone for a while we give them a shout to make sure they are ok. With all of this working so well for me I have absolutely no desire to consider another box or gym.
3. Keeping the challenge alive After so many years at Crossfit I know that everyone has a different reason for being there. For some it is to get to competition level. For others to be strong, with certain PBs in mind. For many it is to obtain and maintain a good level of all round fitness. Whatever the reason you
need to find an environment which keeps you challenged. I know that I won’t ever be competing, nor will I smash out huge PBs. However, there are still lots of things that I want to be able to do and work towards each week. It has only been in the last year that I have been able to do a chest to bar pull up. That took me three years to master. For me that was a huge achievement. I know that not many 40+ busy working mothers with two small children find themselves getting physically stronger and better. I still have many goals and these keep me coming back. 4. Modifying, scaling and adapting. I know that many of my CFMV training buddies will smile at this one as I am known for my need to modify workouts. With many recurring injuries that I have had for the last 10 years I often find myself unable to do certain movements. While I am training for half marathons I also sometimes want to make changes to prevent my legs from being over worked. At CFMV this is perfectly acceptable. My coach is in tune enough to know when it is a genuine requirement and calls me out on the odd occasion when I am trying to blag an easier workout. I know that if I probably would not have sustained my membership had I not been able to and in fact been encouraged to modify workouts to heal my injuries and allow me to pursue other activities.
5. Taking a break.
6. The wider CFMV community.
On a very similar theme to the point above, I have taken small breaks from Crossfit. For 18 months I was required to do extensive travel for my job. With time spent away, jet lag, two daughters under the age of 4 and a very messy house it simply wasn’t possible to do CF 5 times each week.
This is what makes CFMV better than anywhere else in my eyes. The out of WOD activities, friendships and connections. Just a few examples include the annual charity fundraiser event, the 5am nights out and the end of year parties.
I simply scaled back the number of times I attended, some weeks zero times and some weeks more until I was back on an even keel. My coach recognised this and provided me with some travel WODs and also respected the break I needed to take. Even without extra work commitments, sometimes we need to take a break and have some time off. I have found that CFMV fully supports this approach.
When members of the box face tough times or illness they receive incredible support from the box. I know that my family had personal experience of this last year. A hospital visit from coach Vira and constant offers of help and support. I haven’t even mentioned the programming, the personal attention and advice that I am given, the welcome to attend any session to focus on mobility or work on a movement or the great music (ha ha ha!!!) All of these things make the box a great and special place to train and make me sure that I will remain a member for many years to come.
Meg led our members to raise over $8,000 for the Onegirl Charity Foundation.
Meg - wife, mother of two, founder of Playroom to Boardroom; a long standing member of CrossFit Manly Vale.
"Flatten the Hill" by Dr Ravi Rudner There is no doubt over time your body starts to breakdown. Its natural. We're in a state of entropy as our living cells constantly battle to withstand the destructive effects of nature/ our environment. Your nervous system slows down as the nerves begin to deteriorate. This affects the speed of processing information from your senses and the speed of response from your brain. This is the reason that grandad doesn’t get to play first slip in backyard cricket ( unless your grandad is Steve Waugh). It has become increasingly obvious that the older I get, the harder it is to maintain my fitness. I was describing to one of my clients last week the idea that as a youngster ( pre 40's) her fitness journey was similar to trying to push a car along a flat road. It’s easy once you gain momentum to keep going and if you take it easy for a while you'll pretty much maintain your level of fitness. As we age however, we find ourselves pushing that car up an ever increasing gradient. Stop pushing and you might just get flattened as your fitness (read health) hurtles into oblivion behind you. Oh and by pushing i mean intensity and consistency. Another part of this story is the baggage that we load into the boot of this hypothetical car. The longer we are on this planet, the more injuries, and limitations we accrue. So not only does the hill get steeper, but the car gets heavier too. Not nice.
The good news is, no matter where you are in your life journey there are plenty of things you can do. My top tips for pushing up the hill of life are:
1. Change your perspective:
2. Lighten the load:
Insteading of looking at the steep hill (Beacon Hill run) focus on the next footstep.
work to your capacity, and ability and not well beyond it.
Don’t compare yourself to other athletes, adopt the mantra of better than yesterday. This way you won’t become overwhelmed by the daunting task of taking care of yourself for the rest of your life.
Taking cues from inside your body, if you feel tired rest, if you are hungry eat; but don't confuse either of these feelings with being bored.
Each day becomes the first day of the rest of your life.
If you are injured take time to heal.
3. Get some help: It's important to have people around to help make the trip up the hill a little easier, some will help you push the car ( your coach, physiotherapist, massage therapist, acupuncturist, nutritionist, GP, chiropractor) others will line the road and ring cow bells of encouragement ala tour de france ( your box family and quite possibly, but not always, your actual family and work colleagues). The tip here is you'll really struggle to do this alone. All of these are going to help you massively. But they are all quick fixes in the grand scheme of things. If your goals are set far enough out in front of you then you are going to need to take on board my fourth tip.
4. Flatten the hill. How good would it be if you could flatten the hill that you're pushing the damn car up?! The hill represents the stress and pressure that life places on your physiology and mentality. Its your level of health. The accumulation of the small choices you make throughout your life will directly effect the pressure placed on your body's functions. The sooner you get onto making good choices the more effect you have over the level of struggle you experience and the more likely you'll experience abundant health throughout your life." Ravi - husband, father of two, Chiropractor (Northern Beaches Chiropractic); member of CrossFit Manly Vale
Concluding Thoughts Stacked behind family photos collecting dust sits my framed certificates Bachelor in Law/ Economics and Masters in Law. I am thankful for those degrees because they gave me the opportunity to work with some of the best legal and investment minds in Australia. As a young graduate I had the opportunity to work in a Royal Commission. During Friday night drinks, one barrister cheekily asked me how much I was earning and I answered $40 an hour. With a cheekier grin I asked him in return how much he earned? His $ reply made me almost choke on my orange-juice! But then came his caveat...."I've given up my entire life for this profession. If you want to make it big, you have to give up your life". Despite the alarm bells ringing early in my career; it took me a long time to transition from pin-stripe
corporate suit to threestripe tracksuit. For years I persisted with one corporate job after another. And the more I earned the more I yearned for something other than money. I wanted more time with my young family. I wanted to feel healthy and lean again. I wanted to have more time to do Church and community service. I wanted to hang out with friends and make new friends! I spent years of my life chasing the wrong type of currency. I was chasing money, when I should have been chasing TIME. May I never repeat the mistake again. One of the things I learned in the investment world is that money comes not by luck, but by hard work; sweat and sacrifice. Without that ethic, money that comes quick and easy disappears just as quickly and easily. Many years ago one of the black sheep in our family won the lotto twice! Yes twice! Before these wins, he
was a Dole Bludger, too lazy to work. So not having worked ever a day in life BEFORE the wins, he didn't appreciate how hard it is in life to earn a $1 million dollars. So ALL that money disappeared quickly, spent on consumables - second hand cars, holidays, casino etc. Today he has nothing to show for his wins - no house, no car, no money, no investments. He lives in a Housing Commission home, seeking ways to scam the Government for more Centrelink money. I see strong similarities between success found in the investment world and the physical fitness world. The elements of hard work, sweat and sacrifice are fundamental in both. Imagine for a moment if the Greek Gods blessed us instantly with the perfect ADONIS BODY. How many of us have the work ethic to MAINTAIN that body? Or would we revert back to our poor lifestyle ways, thus losing that gift? Good physical health is earned through work.
I am over 40 now! Yay! Oh how I wish I could travel back in time to talk with my 20 year old self. Some of the things I would say to the handsome young me would include: 1) WHO you are - your character and integrity - will always be more important than WHAT you do and WHAT you achieve. Titles and trophies, trials and tribulations will come and go. They don't matter. It's the person you are through it all that matters most. 2) Follow your HEART. You will meet and marry a beautiful woman, have children and live a happy life. 3) Good people come every now and then. They will love and inspire and help you become a better person. When you find them, make an effort to stay connected with them for the rest of your life. 4) Choose to run your own business. You will be disappointed, upset, frustrated. But you will also feel joy, satisfaction and a deep hunger to do better. 5) Work for time and work to give - don't work for money. More will flow into your life if you have the courage to prioritise this way.
6) Forgive quickly. You don't need to carry extra baggage around with you.
Coming Events
7) Make the time for play and travel. You will grow to love your family more; and they will love you more.
End of Year Party, event details on Faceboook
8) Look after your personal health. Remember your dad died at the age of 42.
Financial Health Seminar, event details to follow
9) Produce beautiful work; don't just consume other people's work. 10) Pray daily; be thankful. 11) Faith, love, courage - are the most important muscles to exercise. by Virakone husband, father of five, owner CrossFit Manly Vale References - some pictures used in this publication have been sourced from CrossFit.com
December 2016
January 2017