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For people who have never experienced psychiatric or psychological disturbance it can be difficult to know how to react when a friend or family member is diagnosed with a mental illness. It is no longer considered fashionable to run away, respond with an exclamation of horror, attempt to cast out potentially problematic demons, or arrange to have the afflicted person permanently removed from society and the family tree. To be fair, people are now generally more informed and compassionate about mental health problems. Despite this, even the most well meaning person can make the most unhelpful comments when talking to a friend or family member who experiences mental illness. In Mental Health Week I thought it might be useful to reflect upon some of the less than helpful comments I have encountered in relation to mental illness. Here are 10 examples and some reflections that give a cutting insight into the the effect certain comments can have:

In part 1 of this weight training guide I outlined my recommendations to ensure you are covering the basics in your training. You can view the full article here. Today I’ll be taking a look at some of the more technical terms used in weight training and how you can use these to improve the benefits of your weight training. You can think of this article as a glossary and advice column all in one.

In the lotto of life, the unfortunate truth is that we all eventually die from something. I recall as a child having nightmares about drowning and I realise now that these dreams, though scary were part of a developmental stage where I was coming to terms with my own mortality. It’s an important developmental stage. It may be triggered by a death in the family or when your first pet passes away but we all wrestle with our mortality at some point and (most of us) come to terms with it. 

In his book “Thinking, Fast and Slow”, Daniel Kahnemann talks about 2 systems in the brain. The first is fast, instinctive and emotional. The second is slower, deliberative and logical. When it comes to weight loss, I believe that one of the things that sets people apart is their ability to use this second system. Weight loss can be very emotional. Standing on the scales can be exhilarating or devastating. What sets successful weight loss clients apart is their ability to move from the emotional to the rational. They are able to analyse their results with clear thinking and whilst the the first system that Kahnemann refers to is highly useful and important it is not ideal when it comes to putting together a weight loss strategy. Here are my 4 tips for effective weight loss:

It’s Melbourne Cup week so you could say it’s a good week for gambling. Gambling provides a tremendous adrenaline rush and it is highly addictive. It makes me wonder, though: why is it easy to take a punt on a horse, a greyhound, a footy game or the cricket? And why is it harder to take a punt on yourself…

Don’t you just love how the English language is constantly evolving? We have new terms being created all the time. The new words added to the Oxford Dictionary in 2014 include: wackadoodle, scissor-kick and honky-tonker. Other words are simply changing their definitions as time goes by. The word “gay” has changed its meaning several times over the course of history. What was once more closely defined as happy now also means homosexual and for the younger generations it more likely means something like “lame”. Oh yeah, that word has eveolved its definition as well. That is the beginning of the problem when it comes to having a discussion on fitness. Many people don’t really know what it means to be fit because there are many definitions of fitness and many opinions on what it means to be fit. Describing someone as fit can mean that you think they are: attractive, healthy, compatible, strong, muscular, lean, skinny and the list goes on. Well, let’s see if I can clear some of this confusion up:

It was about 30mins before the start of the NRL Grand Final between the Rabbitohs and the Bulldogs and one of my clients, Matt and I were lucky enough to be able to catch up before kick-off to have a drink. It was a great day and whilst we were both enjoying the day with separate parties it was great to catch up outside of the gym for a change. We went our separate ways before the game and there was no way to foresee how the night would turn out (for the two teams fighting out the Grand Final and for Matt). Unfortunately, Matt suffered a fracture to his foot whilst running for the train after the game. As it turns out, Sam Burgess wasn’t the only person to have a fracture that night and unfortunately there was no “Glory, glory” for Matt. He was about as shattered as the thousands of bulldogs supporters leaving the ground….. and he isn’t a bulldogs supporter. Matt was disappointed when he called me the next day to deliver the news: “It’s fooked” he said, quoting big Sam. We then set about a plan to keep Matt’s fitness up for the next 6 weeks whilst his foot was in a moonboot (see picture).

It’s that time of year again where a lot of good work can be undone by excessive consumption and one of the biggest culprits is alcohol. Here are 6 reasons why alcohol is causing you to gain weight and destroying your good health and good work:

Welcome back to my blog for 2015!

To start the series of blogs for this year I thought it would be interesting to give you an insight into my personal training style and how I approach my own health and reflect that for my clients.

Last night I was lucky enough to score tickets to the newest form of tennis: Fast4. Lleyton Hewitt vs Roger Feder in the best of 5 sets in a first to 4 games format. It was a great pleasure to watch two former World number 1’s and the player who, in my opinion is the greatest of all time. I’m certainly not old enough to have seen Rod Laver but I grew up watching Pete Sampras and I have to give Roger Federer my vote as the best. Of course, as a two-time Grand Slam champion, Lleyton is no slouch.