News: Results and coming up races, John’s short course update.

Interview: We have Gordo back on the show. He covers 5 key aspects of his comeback. 

Coaches Corner: John looks back on an article he wrote 20 years ago to see if it still holds up.

Age Grouper of the Week: Matt Facey sent through Regan Hollioake.

In my last video for the year, I am going to share the three massive (kind of life-transforming) lessons that I have learnt this 2023.

These lessons are ones that I'll be carrying with me for the rest of my life.

If you would like to learn these lessons, watch this video. 

Have you had a leader in your life who had a life-changing impact on you? 

How important was this person to you?

Great leaders have a massive impact on the world and on us as individuals. This can be an amazing coach, a manager, an organisational leader, or a connection that guides us to great heights.

While great leaders are immensely important, many people struggle to lead when in these positions. 

They may:

•    Shy away from the opportunity

•    Go about things the wrong way

•    Create damage, not empowerment, in the relationship.

Unfortunately, this can lead them to disengage from leading others.

Having led thousands of people for over 20 years, I've learned a thing or two about how to help people get the best out of themselves.

I believe there are four key tools/understandings you must have if you want to be a leader who can have a massive impact.

In this week’s video, I share four tips on how to become an impactful leader, enabling you to create life-changing shifts in others.

Do you exercise regularly but aren’t getting the results you want?

Maybe you…

• -        Consistently turn up
• -        Consistently do the workouts

But you aren’t seeing the change you want. 

This is frustrating and can be unmotivating. 

There are lots of reasons why this happens, but I feel there are 4 main ones. 

This week I share 4 key reasons people why don’t get the results they want, and what you need to do to overcome these.

If you want to get better results, make sure you watch this video.

Last weekend 5 people cried on my shoulder. 

It wasn’t because it they were sad…

It was because they had overcome the massive challenge of completing a marathon. 

The tears represented:

• ·        Pride
• ·        Fatigue
• ·        Feeling on top of the world

·        Realising that they had achieved something that was so hard!

These were powerful interactions which showed the value of doing something extremely hard in your life.

Inspired by last weekend, I thought I would create a video explaining the 4 things to do if you are going to take on an extremely hard challenge. Something that I believe is a good thing for every person to do. 

Watch the video to learn the lessons. 

Do you know what one of the main reasons is as to why people quit when they are trying to achieve something?

It’s because they don’t feel they are making progress.

It makes sense, if you are putting the effort in but you aren’t seeing the results you want, it becomes less appealing to stick at it.  

I think that one of the biggest problems that works against people is…

They are blind to their progress. They are doing well but they just don’t see it.

A great example of this was with one of our runners this week. They were feeling despondent with their running because they felt they weren’t making progress.

When I got them to look at their running stats, it turned out they had just run a 5km personal best.

If you want to have ‘stickability’ in achieving a goal, you must become great at seeing and owning your own success.

In this week’s video, I share 4 ways you can become better at owning and enjoying your success, so you keep on your path to the growth you want.

Are you the kind of person who sometimes has the ‘two biscuits lead to the whole packet’ problem?

…and perhaps struggles to close the door on temptation once you go past a certain point?

If you are, you are not alone!

The problem is, when we go to this place it can lead to unhealthy outcomes, weight gain, feeling crap about ourselves, and sometimes even bigger costs.

I have 3 strategies I use to manage my temptations and they have helped me become someone who very rarely goes to an unhealthy place.

In this week’s video I share these strategies with you and teach you how you can apply them to your life so when you are confronted with temptation, you can manage it in a healthier way.

I have one main insecurity…concern about future security.  

It comes from being a small business owner.

Although evidence shows that things will be fine, there are moments where the future seems unclear and uncertain. 

Last week I started using a tool that seems to have removed this fear and uncertainty when this insecurity rears its head and has instead, created excitement about our future.

I’m finding it to be a very powerful tool so this week I want to share it with you. Check out my latest video to learn the tool and see how you may be able to apply it to your life.

There’s one question I often get asked when I do media interviews, it’s…

Do fitness apps and online programmes work?

I’ll be honest, for a huge number of people they don’t.

A lot of people who have these types of apps on their phones have every intention of using them but never do. 

While I’m a big believer that you are better to choose amazing local providers when it comes to fitness services, I also understand that there is a place for apps.

The problem is, people don’t know what they should be looking for if they are going to use an app.

This week I’m going to teach you the 6 things you must understand when choosing a fitness app/online programme, so you can achieve your health and fitness goals.

If you are interested in running 5km you can check out my online 5km programme, www.my5kdream.com.

It will get you running 5km in 63 days…I guarantee it.

I've always struggled with incorporating stretching into my exercise routine. 

Cardio, strength training, power exercises, core conditioning, and plyometrics—none of these have ever been a challenge when it comes to showing up and putting in the effort.

However, stretching is a practice I've always acknowledged as necessary but have had difficulty consistently integrating into my routine.

The dilemma lies in the fact that as I age, the importance of stretching increases, especially if I want to preserve my long-term mobility.

So, at the beginning of July, I set a personal goal: to commit to yoga six days a week for the next three months.

I was determined not to let this goal become one of those well-intentioned aspirations that fade away quickly.

Now, three and a half months later, I've not only successfully achieved my goal, but I've also made it a daily habit in my life.

In this week's video, I'll be sharing the five steps I took to reach this objective.

These steps can be instrumental when you're striving to make positive changes in your life.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about the weight loss journey, a journey that some people can struggle with. 

This has led me to think about how I would approach it in a way where I could be successful…as in setting up long-term sustainable results. 

I would have a 5-step approach that considers more than just food intake.

This week I want to share this approach with you so if you are looking to lose some weight, this video might be helpful on your journey. 

I strongly believe that our potential for personal growth is closely tied to the consistent tools and processes we have in our daily lives.

This belief drives me to focus daily effort to this self-improvement work.

Recently, I've introduced a new process into my daily routine, and it's returning huge benefits to various parts of my life.

I'm excited to share this process with you, which consists of 5 simple steps and only requires 2 minutes of your time each day.

If you want to consistently become a better version of yourself…

I encourage you to watch this video and incorporate this tool into your daily routine. It has the potential to make a significant difference in your personal growth journey.

The other day, someone posed this question to me:

"How can I initiate a conversation with a friend who has recently gained a significant amount of weight?”

This individual wants to support their friend but is grappling with how to broach the subject because they don’t want to hurt their feelings.

I've encountered this delicate issue many times throughout my career, and through my experiences, I've identified five effective steps.

In this week's video, I'll be sharing my five-step approach to facilitate an important conversation in a caring and supportive way.

A lot of people say they need accountability to exercise.

But then when they look for an accountability partner they make one mistake…

They choose a partner who is unmotivated which often leads to both of them giving up quickly. 

If you want to be successful with accountability, there 4 things to look for… 

1. If you are totally new to an exercise or movement – pay for a skilled professional who has helped people like you to be accountable to.
2. Find a partner who has good fitness character traits and ‘soft skills’ (like knowing how to turn up to do a session every time).
3. Work together to create the rules and standards that your relationship will have.
4. Be a legend at keeping your partner to the standards you both set. This is important because if you do this for them, they will do it for you.

If you want to go deeper into this subject make sure you watch this video, where I teach you how you set these accountability steps up successfully.

Do you ever wonder why some people struggle to stick to their fitness goals?

It's often because they skip a crucial step...

They forget to set up their own personal motivation toolbox right from the beginning.

When obstacles pop up along the way in their fitness journey, they're left empty-handed, unsure of how to handle them which sadly leads to throwing in the towel.

Result? They mistakenly label themselves as "lazy."

Let's change that!

In this week’s video I share the 5 motivational tools you can put in place when you are on your fitness journey.

These tools include:

1. The "No More Comparison" Tool

2. The "Bad Day Resilience" Tool

3. The "Consistency Booster" Tool

4. The "Conquer Tough Conditions" Tool

5. The "Success Momentum" Tool

Watch the video to learn about these tools and how you can use them to stay more motivated…in all areas of your life.

There are a lot of people who quit exercise within 13 days of starting. 

There are many reasons why this happens, but one of the main reasons is…

They do everything wrong around their planning.

They: 

·       Plan to do their exercise when they are tired

·       Don’t consider the extra support they will need 

·       Schedule their exercise at times when they know they struggle, for example someone who hates mornings tries to exercise in the morning 

·       Don’t do any practical or mental planning at all! 

There are many steps you need to do (and get right) if you want to introduce a long term exercise routine into your life and becoming a legendary planner is one of the most important. 

In this week’s video I’m going to teach you the 4 key planning tools you must put in place if you want to develop a long term love of regular exercise.  

            These tools will set you up for exercise success

Are you stressed in your life right now?

Or do you find that you struggle when stress overtakes your life? 

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about this…

‘How do I reduce the time I spend in stress when it’s overtaking my life?’

Through thinking about this question, I’ve developed a 6 step process you can do in times of stress that will help.

The results are huge!!!

When I go through this 6 step process, my stress melts away and I’m quickly in a healthier, more rational place.

In this week’s video I’m going to teach you my 6 step process, a process I’ve never seen anywhere else so you can become a master of moving away from your stresses quickly.

Read this statement:

‘If you are aiming to improve an area of your life, you want to use your time in the most effective and powerful way.’

Do you agree with this statement? I’m pretty sure most of you will.  Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t apply it when they are trying to grow.

They…

• Just do what they have always done in the past
• Put their focus on the wrong things
• Don’t spend time understanding and developing the most effective pathway forward

This can lead to a place where their progress is slow and frustrating.

In developing a growth pathway, we want to make sure we are using our energy in the most effective way possible so we can quickly create impactful change and continue to evolve down this path.

I have a technique that I use when I’m trying to grow which massively helps me achieve effective and fast growth.

In this week’s video, I’m going to teach you how I use it and how you can apply it to the areas you want to grow in.

As someone who helps people achieve fitness goals, there’s often a moment I see which leads to people moving backwards in their progress.

They have…

• Started a fitness goal
• Achieved the goal they desired
• Experienced amazing physical and mental benefits

At this point, if you ask these people if they want to maintain the progress they have made, 100% of them would say ‘yes’.

But unfortunately, many of them make decisions that lead to them going backwards…and often it’s to the place where they were before they started their journey.

We often see this in difference scenarios such as:

• Weight loss - we often hear of people who have lost weight only to put it straight back on
• Fitness – where someone has been successful with exercise only to fall away from it and reverting back to being unfit and inactive

While there are a few reasons why this happens, one of the biggest reasons is…

Once they achieve their goal, they pull away from the things that made them successful.

This is often because they think they can ‘do it by themselves’, or they move away from the investment of time and money that it took for them to achieve their initial goal.

If you want to maintain, and even progress further, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to pull away from the things that make you successful.

In this week’s video, I help you identify how you can become more aware of what you need to keep in place once you get to your ‘success point’ so you can maintain and even go further with the gains you have made.

There are a lot of people out there who want to live a passionate life but for some reason, they aren’t.

This may be due to a number of reasons such as…

• Not knowing what they are passionate about
• Having so many life commitments that they don’t have the time or energy
• They have given up on thinking that a passionate life is possible

Are you in this place? If so, would you like to change it?

If you want to create change, we need to put a framework in place that takes you from where you are right now to where you want to get to.

While there are a few hurdles to get over, to me, there’s one that stands out as one of the biggest limiters…

It’s that you have put the worst version of yourself into the time you need to develop this side of your life.

For example, you plan to put work into developing your passion at the end of the work day…

Often when you are tired and unfocused, which can mean you procrastinate and put it off.

This can lead to a place where you don’t make progress which reinforces to you that you can’t lead a passionate life.

In this week’s video, I share how you can set yourself up for success so your passionate life project gets the best version of you and the progress it deserves.

One of the hardest parts of creating change is taking the hard actions when we feel resistance.

We know…

• What we need to do
• How we need to do it

But the resistance we can sometimes feel stops us from taking action.

I think one of the reasons for this is the story we build up in our head.

Have you ever…

• Talked yourself out of the action you know you need to take?
• Justified why ‘now is not the right time’ to take action?
• Made the action almost seem impossible to do?

If we want to grow or create change, we need to take action. We need to consistently do the hard things, even when we feel resistance.

In this week’s video I want to share with you one powerful motivational tool that I use that helps me take action when I feel resistance. This is a tool that I’ve taught many people to use and it’s proving to be a winner.

If you want to get better at doing the hard things, watch this video.

A few years ago I did an interview with one of the greatest triathletes of all time, a guy by the name of Peter Reid.

This 3 x world Ironman champion was known to be…

• An extremely tough athlete
• Driven to do whatever it took to win
• Able to endure ‘hurt’ more than other high-level athletes

In this interview, he talked about his driving motivation which was…

To prove to his father that he was worth something.

Peter talked about what motivated him but his insight was more about how his motivation was unhealthy for him.

He also shared an amazing moment where he lost all of his athletic motivation…

It was when his father sent him a letter telling him he was proud of him.

This interview opened up the idea of questioning if the motivation we have is healthy, because sometimes what we are chasing isn’t good for us.

In this week’s video, I share Peter’s story and explore the idea of questioning if your motivation is good or bad for you and what you can do if it’s working against you.

You may have heard David Goggins, the guy is a fitness freak!

He…

• Has been a Navy Seal
• Has held the world record for pull-ups
• Is an ultra-marathon runner and ultra-distance cyclist

You’d think that someone like me, who absolutely loves fitness, would be inspired by Goggins.

But I’m not…

The reason is because all I ever hear from David Goggins is about what he has done.

While he’s clearly a bloody impressive human who I would have been inspired by in my twenties, I no longer get inspiration from people like this.

Nowadays, I’m inspired by a different type of person.

The type of people I get inspired by still achieve amazing things, they just do it in different ways.

In this week’s video I share where I get inspiration from, the type of people I want to surround myself with, to learn from, and to ultimately be one day in the future.

A couple of weeks ago I shared with you how I’m working through a back injury.

My main aims during this time are to:

• Get back to normal in the wisest way possible
• Minimise the damage that could be done during this time e.g. not putting on unnecessary weight due to unfocused eating.

While these are just a couple of my focuses, this time has also reinforced the importance of the self-development work I’ve done over the last 10 years.

You see, if I had this injury in my early thirties, I would probably have felt…

• Lost and insecure
• That I had to keep exercising in ways that would work against my injury getting better
• A threat to my life and career

Luckily for me when I was thirty, I realised that I was too one-dimensional as a person.

I was amazing at exercise but that was about it.

At this time I realised I needed to develop new sides of myself, to develop lots of ‘esteem points’.

Now that I’m in a place where I can’t exercise how I like to, these different ‘esteem points’ make it easier for me to make the best decisions around my injury.

In this week’s video I share how I discovered that I needed to develop myself, what I did after that discovery, and how it’s helping me right now.

Before I start, I just want to let you know that all of our running groups are starting on the 3rd of July. We have our beginner 5km group, our 10km group, and our winter half marathon group starting.

If you are looking to join our team and achieve an amazing running goal, go to www.extramilerunners.co.nz to find out more.

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A while I ago, I was talking to a recovered alcoholic and they said something to me that blew my mind away.

They said…

‘Even though I haven’t had a drink in over 20 years I think about having one every day of my life’.

This was quite a different experience to my own journey with alcohol. When I gave up 25 years ago, I never thought about drinking it again.

There’s a difference between me and him…

I was a bad drunk, he’s an alcoholic.

I asked him how he had been successful in keeping drinking away, when every day, he was confronted with this thought.

He shared a powerful technique/tool that he uses.

When I learnt this tool, I thought, ‘this tool can be used in so many areas of life’.

So today, I’m going to share this tool with you that you can use when you have thoughts are pushing you towards actions you are trying to stay away from. This can help you stay on a better path.

Unfortunately, I hurt by back last week.

It’s the kind of the injury that can take quite a bit of time to come right, so I have a journey in front of me.

This can be a scary time for someone who loves fitness and has a career in it.

Luckily I’ve learnt how to managed times like these so…

• I can get back to normal as quickly as possible

• I can manage the emotional side of dealing with this injury

• I can use it as an opportunity to develop other areas of my life

There’s also another area that I think is key at this time…

‘Do as little damage as possible while I work through this’.

I’m not talking about the injury here, I’m talking about not allowing myself to take a step backwards in these other areas:

• My mental health

• Weight gain

• Feeling disconnected

The aim during this time is to also look after these areas too so when I’m recovered I can get back to the fit and active version of myself I like to be as soon as possible.  

​​​​​​​In this week’s video I share how I approach times like these and what strategies I use to do ‘as little damage as possible’.

If you want to grow in an area of your life, one of the best things you can do is…

Consciously put yourself in environments that are designed to help you grow.

Doing this will take you to a place where:

​​​​​​​

• You’ll progress faster
• Experience more motivation
• Get to levels that you can’t get to by yourself

When choosing these environments there are many things you need to look for but there’s one thing in particular that I want to focus on today.

It’s how the environment builds and reinforces a shift in your identity.

Being in this type of environment can powerfully help you develop and reinforce a new level of behaviour, which leads to higher outcomes.

In this week’s video, I share one important thing to look for when you are choosing the environments that help you grow which, in turn, shifts how you see yourself.

One of the best ways to make progress is through feedback.

It can be gained through self-assessment or through the use of a mentor or coach.

The problem is, most people don’t have a process for getting feedback.

This leads to:

• Making the same mistakes over and over
• Not feeling they are getting anywhere or making any progress
• Depleting motivation because they are a bit lost and confused

Recently I had an experience with one of our runners that should how their lack of self-assessment was working against them.

It was taking them to a place where they were losing the love for running.

In this week’s video, I share the insight I gained in working with this person and the advice I gave, which helped them find their mojo again.

I have an insecurity around my piano playing…

It’s that I don’t think I will ever be good at playing by ear.

This holds me back from practicing because when I do spend time trying to play by ear my inner voice says…

‘You are not good at this so why even try’.

This leads to me…

• Struggling to stay focused on what I’m trying to practice
• Telling myself that I can’t do it
• Moving towards quitting

This creates an experience where I don’t get better, which reinforces my insecurity.

Lately, I’ve developed a plan that helps me overcome this, and it’s working.

I’m moving away from this insecurity and am actually getting better at playing by ear.

In this week’s video, I share a deeper level of my experience and teach you the technique I’m using which is helping. 

A lot of us have struggled with our devices. Although there is clearly value in having them, they can also…

• Be massive time wasters

• Cause mindless use of our energy

• Have negative impacts on us in social ways (comparison, misrepresentation, FOMO etc..) 

The problem is, we also need some of the tools that come with them.

Recently I discovered a massive issue that I have…

If I had an important task I needed to do on my phone, I was often wasting 5-10mins of my time during the process of dealing with the task itself.

For example:

• I had a work message I had to respond to on Facebook Messenger

• Once I was in the App, I would spend 5-10mins scrolling

• So this usual 1-minute task ended up taking up to 10 minutes 

When I reflect upon my day, this wastage of time was probably costing me around 40-50 minutes and there was no real value in my ‘scrolling’, I could definitely spend my time on better things.

So I knew I need to address this.

I came up with a strategy, which is really simple, that has dramatically reduced the time I waste on my device. 

In this week’s video, I share this strategy with you so if you are like me, you can be more conscious of the time you may be wasting on your device and spend that time in better, more rewarding ways.

When we have moments of success we gain a lot.
We...

• Feel good about ourselves

• Experience the feeling of having a stronger identity

• Get to have a rewarding experience

In these moments of success, we want to experience as many benefits as possible but sometimes we do things that work against us achieving this outcome.  

Two of the main ways we do this are:

• We diminish our success. This is the ‘yes, but…’ problem. 

• We rush past the success. This is where you don’t take the time to experience, recognise and feel the full learnings of your success.

Recently, I had an experience with one of our runners who rushed passed their success which meant they missed the opportunity to see themselves in a different and more empowering light.

In this week’s podcast, I share what happened and I teach what you can do in your moments of success, so you can experience all the powerful benefits that these moments offer us. 

Do you have areas in your life where you may limit your experiences because you feel insecure?

You might...

• Sit on the side-line wishing you could participate

• Resist from trying new things in a particular area of your life

• Deep down know you want to have experiences but don’t allow yourself because of an insecurity

If you do, you aren’t alone.

There’s a life that you want to reach for but your insecurity slaps your hand away.

We want to develop these areas so we allow ourselves to move towards growth.

So…

• You actually do have new experiences

• You may learn that you are not as bad as you think in an area you felt insecure in

• You have a life that is filled with experiences that you enjoy

In this week’s podcast, I share two strategies you can use if you feel you are holding yourself back from the experiences you know you want to move towards.

I was speaking to someone on the phone yesterday who had been very active at high school but had since fallen away from exercise.

She was aiming to get back into regular exercise but was making one big mistake which meant she...

• Was lacking motivation
• Wasn’t doing the work
• Was close to the point of giving up

While this person had good intentions, it was clear to me that where she was putting her focus at this this stage of her journey was working against her. 

When I gave her some advice she said…

‘Stop, I need to get a pen to write this down’.

In this week’s podcast, I’m going to share the mistake she was making with her ‘first focus’ and the advice I gave her which will lead her to achieving much better results.

In February, I had a client I was coaching for running tell me they were ready to quit their goals.

They were…

- Not fitting all their training in

- Feeling unmotivated

- Not getting the results they wanted

- Ready to move on from running completely 

While sometimes people do need to move on from certain areas of their lives, I thought it’s worth giving it one more shot with this person.

I put my thinking cap on and developed a new way of approaching this person’s training.

It’s been a total success. Now they are…

- Achieving every session

- Feeling on fire with their training

- Getting amazing results

In this week’s video, I share with you the change in approach I used that has helped this person go from being ready to quit completely to being on fire with their exercise goals.

I recently interviewed leading performance physiologist, Dr Greg Wells.

He’s brought out a book called Powerhouse.

It’s about how to use scientifically proven techniques to improve energy in our life.

The book is based on techniques in these four areas:

1. Breathe

2. Move

3. Energize

4. Thrive

In my interview, he shared a concept about how to get more ‘Thrive’ energy in our life.

As Greg was talking to me, I was thinking ‘I love this concept’.

So, in this week’s show, I’m sharing a technique that you can use to get more thriving energy into your life.

I’ve been working with someone who has made phenomenal progress in their life.

When they came to me they:

• Felt they weren’t at the level they needed to be
• Had impostor syndrome
• Felt limitations on the possibilities within their life
  

Through our time working together, this person is now in a place where they:

• Are a strong leader having massive impact
• Have massively shifted their self-perception about themselves
• Have ambition about their future
  

While I have helped guide this person’s growth, my part is only 1% of the reason they have shifted so much.

Looking at the reasons for their success, there are two factors that have been crucial and have enabled their growth and ensures their development moving forward.

In this week’s podcast, I want to share with you the two things this person has continuously done to create an amazing life for themselves.

Last week I thought of something that I had never contemplated before.

It was a bit mind-blowing for me.

It was to do with a key difference between the life of the ‘old druggie me’ and the now ‘current fitness me’.

I’ve decided to share this with you.

I’ve got to be honest, while I think there’s some fascinating insights from this…

It could be a total disaster.

Have a listen and let me know your thoughts.

I'm back with a long form podcast this week. In it I share some thoughts on how to create an amazing high performing culture. 

I was teaching an extremely hard cycle class the other night.

The conditions were:

• Stupidly hot

• It was a very challenging workout

• Everyone was working hard

With around 10-15mins to go, when the hardest part of the workout was still in front of us, I could see that people were:

• Getting tired, both physically and mentally

• Looking for a reason to take it easy

• Starting to lose their focus

In fairness to the class, it was easy to justify pulling back in effort because the hot conditions were making it so tough...

But it’s my job to help people get to a higher level within themselves.  
I knew I had to come up with something that would do just that.  

A motivational thought popped into my mind, and I shared it with my class.

It must have hit a note because for the last part of the workout everyone absolutely destroyed themselves. It was amazing to see.

In this week’s video, I share this with you, and you may find that it helps you in times when you need to take things to the next level.

Sadly, so many people struggle with exercise.

Here’s the thing, most of these people have tried to exercise but have ended up quitting. This obviously has a massive impact on their health, fitness and wellbeing.

When they have that moment where they are motivated to try to bring exercise into their lives, unfortunately, they make some key mistakes, which ultimately leads to them quitting and often, never wanting to try again.

In this week’s podcast, I want to share the 4 reasons why beginners often fail when starting on their exercise journey.    

When you know these reasons, you can see a wiser pathway forward, which means you will have a higher chance of successfully introducing exercise into your life and start on the pathway to a fitter and healthier you.  

Some people believe they will exercise regularly all their lives.

There are a lot of reasons why they think this:

• They have developed a sustained, long term habit
• They have a routine that they trust
• They have a community they belong to
• They have the identity and mindset that comes with being a long-term exerciser

But sometimes these people do fall away from exercise. 

Despite having a solid foundation of long-term exercise, it still can happen, and you’d be surprised that it doesn’t take much to be in a place where your health and fitness become a struggle. 

For these people, there are some questions which might be useful to explore:

• Why did this happen?
• What has been the cost of falling away, both physically and mentally?
• What are the barriers that need to be faced now?
• How do they wisely bring exercise back into their life?

In this week’s podcast, I’m going to talk about what you should do if you find yourself in this situation, so you can get back to the place you know you love with your health and fitness.

Do you struggle with motivation? If so, read on and make sure you watch the video.                                                                                                                      

Every day of my life I spend time motivating people.

It can be with:

• My group fitness classes

• Coaching my runners

• With my mentoring clients

Over the years, because I spend so much time in this space, I’ve learnt a lot about motivation.
To me, motivating people is about getting them to a higher-level. To get people to take a step up in their action and behaviours.  

When I first started teaching fitness a wise soul in the fitness game taught me one of the most important lessons about motivation.

This lesson increased my ability to motivate others massively.

So much so it’s still one of my foundation thoughts around motivation.

In this week’s podcast I’m going to share this lesson with you and teach you how you can apply it to your life, so you’ll be able to motivate yourself to your next level.

Every year I’m very lucky because I get to be the MC at the iconic event, the Kathmandu Coast to Coast.

This is one of the most special endurance events in the world.

There are many reasons why I love this role but the main one is watching athletes work through this challenge. They…

• Face doubt, fear, and adversity
• Must work through challenging moments
• Learn powerful lessons about themselves
• Get the amazing reward of finishing something they worked so hard to complete

While there are many benefits to training and racing the Coast to Coast, there is one benefit that I feel may be the biggest of all.

When I was wrapping up the race briefing, I talked about this benefit and afterwards a guy came up to me and said…

‘What you said meant so much to me, I’ll take that with me forever’.

In this week’s podcast I’ll share that benefit with you. Who knows, it may get you signing up for a crazy event like the Coast to Coast!

When I was doing Ironman triathlon, I trained with a guy called Gordo.

This guy was a beast of an athlete, and he was a very wise man who:

• Had the highest level of intelligence
• Was an amazing communicator who made complex things seem simple
• Loved helping others improve

One day when I was training with him, he shared a way of thinking and mindset that motivated me to be a higher-level athlete myself.  

This mindset has:

• Influenced the rest of my life
• Helped me overcome my most challenging moments
• Helped me build more belief in myself

In this week’s podcast, I share Gordo’s lesson with you so you can hopefully get as much value from it as I have.

Do you have something that you are trying to improve on?

What are your answers to these questions:

• What’s your approach to improvement?
• When you spend time on this, how do you spend your time?
• Do you make the progress you hope for?

If we want to improve, it’s important that we spend time on the approach and strategy we use so that…

• We make shifts in the most impactful way
• The change we create lasts
• We evolve as an overall person throughout the process

For me, a massive shift happened with my piano playing when I changed my approach to my practice time.

It was like I had put my progress into overdrive.

And I have been able to apply this to all areas of my life.

In this week’s podcast, I share an important way to look at how to use your practice time, so you can develop yourself faster and more effectively.

I have this fitness challenge that I do each week that is designed to:

• Push me to my absolute physical max
• Test my mental game
• Help me evolve the process I use to becoming a higher-level self

This challenge brings fear to my day from the moment I wake up, but even though this is the case…

• I always do it
• I know the game, so I hit the objectives most of the time
• I get the physical and mental rewards I love

A couple weeks ago this question popped up in my head after completing it (when I was huffing and puffing on the ground):

“Have you challenged how you do this challenge? Is there a higher level you can aim for?”

Up until this point I would have told you I gave everything in this workout…

But by asking myself this question, I’ve been able to go to another level.

In this week’s podcast I break down how my ‘challenge my challenge’ thinking has taken me to the next level and how you can apply this principle to your life.

The way I do this podcast is about to change. In this show I talk about the changes and how the show will be different moving forward. I also give my reasons why I'm making these changes.