Why Aren’t I Losing Weight?

ByJarrat Wood

Why Aren’t I Losing Weight?

This is the question that many people are asking themselves every day across the globe (or at least in developed nations with the most obesity and overweight issues). Usually it’s rhetorical. Sometimes it’s to yourself in the mirror…Or to your partner…Or anyone who will listen. BUT, if you really want an answer and can’t work it out then it’s time to consult a professional. In this article I outline some of the most common answers to a question that has many answers. Before I do, let me outline one thing that I know for sure: there is ALWAYS a reason! It might be simple, it might be complex but there is ALWAYS a reason!!

Injury Management 101

ByJarrat Wood

Injury Management 101

As a personal trainer, you get a terrific perspective on people’s lives through shared experiences. This week has given me pause to think about the trials and tribulations we all face. We are all prone to a setback here and there. We all have birthdays, parties, Christmas, New Year, Easter, the list goes on. We all get colds. We all get the occasional flu. We all have personal emergencies, relationship trouble, work stress. And we all get injured. Whether you’re a professional athlete or a couch potato. Throughout your life you will often have times when you have a muscle, bone, joint, tendon or ligament injury. Not to mention the variety of all other medical setbacks, check-ups, tests, procedures and surgeries.

This article delivers to you the basics of how to manage those injuries appropriately and safely, to not only recover but MAXIMISE your recovery.

Injury Prevention

ByJarrat Wood

At this time of year I see a lot of people with new injuries. When I ask them what they think caused it, they give me a sheepish kind of look, like they know they did something wrong. They then proceed to give me a list of “reasons” as to why they were a bit slack about exercising during winter but now that summer is approaching, they really need to get in shape fast, so they’re trying to fit 6 months of training into 3.

Client Success Story: A Tale of Two Runners

ByJarrat Wood

A Tale of Two Runners:

This weekend I had 2 representatives in the Sydney Running Festival – Matt and Nigel. I wanted to relate their stories as neither of them would confess to being ‘natural’ runners but over time they have both become runners, and excellent runners at that! It’s a tale of two runners that can inspire anyone to improve and do something they have never done before and we begin with Matt:

Eating for Health Vs Eating for Weight Loss

ByJarrat Wood
Eating for Health Vs Eating for Weight Loss
 
Recently I have had many discussions with clients regarding their nutritional habits. As usual, most of these discussions centre around weight loss but with a recent, new twist. I am finding that some people are becoming a little confused by what is healthy and what is low in calories so in this article I strip the confusion back to the basics. 
 
We need to eat for 2 reasons: No. 1 is to consume all of the vitamins, minerals, fibre, carbohydrates, protein and fat that is essential for our body’s optimal function; No. 2 is to fuel our body with sufficient energy to complete all tasks sufficiently. The best place to start for anyone looking to refine their diet in regard to either of these 2 aspects is www.eatforhealth.gov.au. Here you will find the Australian Dietary Guidelines based on an extensive review by Australia’s best doctors, dietitians and research scientists. The recommendations were updated just this year (2013).

Excellence is Not an Act, But a Habit

ByJarrat Wood
Some of you may recognize the title of this article as a paraphrased quote from Aristotle. The full quote attributed to the Greek philosopher is “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” It resonates with me as a personal trainer as day in, day out I see clients who are very good at what they do regularly and conversely have a weakness in the elements of their training they choose to ignore. This can be explained away quite simply as human nature. We have a natural tendency to avoid activities and/or exercises which cause us discomfort or are difficult. We also have a natural tendency to de drawn to the activities and/or exercises which we are good at and are comfortable with. This can be exacerbated in a gym setting where other people are watching and of course, no-one likes to feel embarrassed.
 
So if we use Aristotle’s great wisdom and apply it to our training we need to start developing a habit and over time excellence is a very real possibility. Some would say it is even inevitable with enough time and effort. In this way a weakness can become a strength and something we don’t enjoy can become very enjoyable. This all comes down to planning and having a training schedule that deals with your strengths and weaknesses appropriately to achieve excellence. This week, I share the core components of my own training plain as a guide to how to do this:

Progression In Training (Science Meets Art)

ByJarrat Wood
Simply put, progression in training is where we apply a stimulus to a client and an adaptation occurs. This adaptation may occur in any aspect of a client’s fitness. We then apply a new stimulus and another adaptation occurs. Rinse, wash, repeat. It’s a simple process that can easily be over-complicated by some personal trainers. We also know that applying the same stimulus once the initial adaptation has occurred will lead to the same result (homeostasis). This is why someone who trains regularly but with a monotonous program will stop progressing. A new stimulus is required. It also why I often quote to my clients: “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result”. We don’t treat other aspects of our lives in this way so why should our fitness be any different.

As a Tough Mudder I Pledge That…

ByJarrat Wood
As the pledge was read and repeated like Wedding vowels, with earnest and gusto by the 600 odd participants in the second wave of Mudders about to embark on the 18 kilometres of mud, obstacles and some say torture on a hot Sunday morning, you could excuse the four of us for not stopping for a moment and think – what did we just sign up for? Our decision to take on the super-human Mudder course began in August.  Adam, Mark, Tom and myself had a discussion in the office one day and the next minute we were entered as ‘Heavy Ten’, in reference to the state of a thoroughbred race track after the maximal amount of rain it can endure before the races are abandoned. When we approached Jarrat to tell him the good news, his eyes lit up, for Jarrat this meant one thing, an excuse to make them feel more pain and strain than normal.

The Difference Between Osteopaths and Physiotherapists

ByJarrat Wood
This is a question I am asked almost every day and it’s one I find really difficult to answer. The main difficulty lies in the fact that to answer this I need to generalise what it is that osteopaths do and what it is that physiotherapists do. The other thing I find difficult is defining what it is that physiotherapists do, seeing as I didn’t actually study it myself and so most of what I know about them comes only from what people have said to me based on the times they have been to see a physio. 
So based on what I think to be true, here are what I believe to be the similarities and differences.

A Word On Motivation

ByJarrat Wood

Recent discussions with clients have lead me to revisit the importance of goal-setting and planning. You have probably all heard of the SMART principle which states that goals should be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-Bound. When I conduct Certificate IV Fitness Courses this is the principle that we teach our students to use for developing goals for clients. This is a great system. It’s memorable and easy to apply and you can cross-check your goal with each of the 5 points to ensure that it is an appropriate goal. Once we have a goal set we can then work backwards to develop a plan that will deliver the client to the goal. Where I have found that this principle runs into trouble is when the goal does not provide sufficient motivation for the client to undertake the necessary changes in their lifestyle to achieve the goal. So our goal can be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound but if motivation is poor then our goal can easily slip by. Which brings me to my concerns over the word “motivation” and our reliance on someone or something providing the motivation for us?