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Danny's Blog

Welcome to Danny's blog page

This page will be a place that will deal with all aspects of health and fitness, the mental, physical, emotional and sometimes spiritual. Whether it is talking about the latest trends in the industry, motivation, exercise tips, nutritional notes or emotional issues we will cover them.

I would like this blog to become a place that creates positive changes in you that will over time create a positive change in the world.

Be prepared to become great

Thursday 8th July 2010

Why people fail at weight loss

Normally I write wise words with my motivational hat on but this time I’m going to wear more of a fitness hat and talk about weight loss and why certain people will always struggle with it. Over my years of working in the health and fitness industry it seems certain people who, for whatever reason will always manage to fail when it comes to losing weight.

No matter how keen they are in the beginning they will find a way, excuse, or (in their head) a justifiable reason not to succeed. I sure you have met this type of person (or been one yourself) they constantly do things to mess up their efforts to change, they tell you about how hard or unfair it is and bang on about how if it wasn’t for their bad luck (that they always seem to encounter) they’d be successful.

These people are relatively easy to spot because they’re the ones that have a wonderful ability to make being overweight someone else’s fault and consume your energy by constantly talking about it.

The truth is getting in shape is not that hard when approached with the right attitude, as in any pursuit of success having your head in the right space is essential.There are many different reasons why people fail with weight loss but the good news is when managed with the right attitude it’s relatively easy to rectify.

Most people when attempting to lose weight take the interested approach as opposed to the committed, what I mean by that is, from experience most people come to me wanting to change saying they are committed but when it comes to the “doing” part they struggle, so in reality they’re interested in the idea of changing but not committed to applying the action required.

This lack of commitment is fast becoming the overweight/obesity epidemic we are now facing and unless we change our approach we are heading towards serious health issues. I find it quite sad that some people will never change and they will perpetually be overweight and unhappy with their body yet keep finding excuses for their demise.

The saddest thing is, the message of health isn’t getting through and it’s got nothing to do with understanding or education because most people know what to do, they’re just not doing it so here are few reasons I believe why they keep failing.

1. Don’t take responsible
They find someone or something to blame for their lack of success. It amazes me how these people never take responsibility for their actions, they’re forever apportioning the blame so when they do fall off the wagon or stop trying it’s never their fault.

2. Making the process hard
They see the problem not the solution. Getting in shape is about having the right attitude and too often people adopt the – “it’s all too hard” attitude. They spend more time complaining about why they can’t rather than finding ways they can.

3. Set unrealistic goals
You cannot lose years and years of bad habits in 2 weeks. The amount of times I’ve had clients get upset because they expected to be in shape after 2 weeks when for years and years they’ve lived an unhealthy lifestyle - If you truly believe you can transform your body from flab to fab in 2 weeks you’re a delusional daydreamer, the body doesn’t work that way it needs time to adapt.

4. Look for easy options
As the example above Health and fitness marketing has sold us the dream that getting in shape is a quick fix solution when the truth is - it’s a lifelong process (Forming any habit takes time). We are hell bent on getting instant results but without the effort. We spend money on useless products in the hope they bring results rather than make an effort to change the poor habits, which have caused the problem. The truth is, if getting in shape was that easy I’m sure we’d all be buffed and beautiful.

5. People lie
Danny: Did you bring in your diary?
Client: I forgot it, I left it on the kitchen bench but I’ve
been eating really well.
Danny: I’m sure you have.
Client: No really, I’ve been soooo good.
Danny: Have you been writing it down in the diary?
Client: Sort of.
Danny: What’s that mean?
Client: Well I’ve ahhm, (usually the time to attempt a subject change) hey how was the footy, great game.
Danny: Nice diversion
Client: Ahhm, I didn’t get time to fill it in and I’m blah, blah, blah…..

People kid themselves when it comes to their eating habits believe it or not (no really) they lie about the type and how much food they eat. If you are really serious about losing weight you’d keep a diary and be more careful with your food.

6. Laziness
People love to justify their lack of effort using excuses like I don’t have time; I’m too busy, too tired, too stressed, too unwell etc. It’s not too often you’d hear someone be honest and say the reason why I don’t get results is because I’m too lazy to get off my arse and do something about it. It’s got little to do with being tired or having no time it’s more about your effort.

7. Don’t finish things
I love seeing people when they’re motivated and wanting to change but get disappointed when so many of these people lose their focus and go back to their old habits. It amazes me how someone can start a weight loss campaign with such enthusiasm yet never persist long enough to see any benefits.

Whether this applies to you or not the point is the statistics for obesity and illnesses stemming from obesity are alarming and unless you start to look after your health, chances are you will become part of those figures and the consequences may be dire. So if any of the above applies to you I suggest it’s time to harden up a little, stop making excuses and get serious about creating a healthier version of you.

I will leave you with this quote:

How strange to use "You only live once" as an excuse to throw it away. ~
Bill Copeland


Choose your path wisely

Love to hear your comments



Wednesday 30th June 2010

Strength in simplicity

 It’ s amazing how advanced we’ve become over the last decade, we have more gadgets, gizmos and hi tech equipment than ever before and (apparently) these advancements are designed to save time, increase productivity, helps us become more efficient while making life simpler. Yet even with all this technology we still somehow manage to be rushing, have less time for leisure and life appears to be just as complicated if not maybe even more than before.

A common catch cry of today is “If only I had more time” What if you did have more time? I can bet for most people they’d fill it up with more tasks and somehow still end up with no time. Here’s an irony the number one reason why people don’t finish what they start is due to lack of time??? So in reality time-saving devices and technology isn’t what’s needed its being able to simplifying things and being smarter with our time. 

We believe that technology has made our life easier and think because we can multi-task we’ve become more efficient users of time. To a great extent all we’ve done is become more accessible (on demand) and made multi-tasking fashionable, so in essence what we’re done is complicate the simple.

We seem to have this wonderful ability to make things more complicated than they need to be? Let’s take people wanting to change their body shape as an example, they decide to go on a fad diet or exercise program, struggle to stick to it due to its complexity and before long return to their previous unhealthy lifestyle. This is a perfect example of people doing things the hard way as opposed to keeping it simple by making a few sustainable adjustments to your unhealthy behaviors and making them a habit!

We are funny creature us humans we say we want simple but do everything to create complicated.  It’s as if the more complicated something is the more credibility it must be. We spend so much time looking for greener grass, the next big thing or the secret that we fail to see the simple (what most times has always been there).

I remember a few years ago a client of mine was building a new house he was so excited, this (he believed) was going to be the key to a happy home life but when things didn’t go exactly as planned what was to be an enjoyable process became a challenging and frustrating one. He later realized the key to his happiness wasn’t the house, it was the people within it, he’d become so caught up in complex that he lost sight of what was always there. He cluttered his mind with issues and problems which changed his state of mind so instead of enjoying the process he created the very thing he wanted to avoid unhappiness in the house.

Happiness depends, less on exterior things than most suppose - William Cowper.

Our thinking, perceptions, emotions and unconscious behaviours are all controlled by the mind and the clearer the mind is, the better they function. Whenever you get anxious, angry, frustrated, overworked or overwhelmed it causes stress and mind-clutter so what was once tolerable becomes intolerable.

Strength is in simplicity and sometimes (when stressed) we need to change our focus, slow things down a little or take time out to reassess the purpose of what we are trying to achieve. It’s difficult to gain any form of clarity when your mind is full of clutter and confusionyour thinking is no longer clear, your emotional state changes therefore making decision often becomes difficult.

It’s in these moments you need to step away from the situation (the some-one or something that’s causing the problem) by taking a break, some time out, a deep breath or finding some personal space. It’s usually in these quiet moments you’re able to see the situation for what it really is, view it with a different perspective and gain some clarity. You know the scenario - you’re trying to think of something and no matter how hard you try the answer just won’t come and later in a quieter moment it comes to you.

So from now on instead of letting circumstance and complexity take control and cause you unnecessary grief and anxiety, learn to appreciate the strength in simplicity by removing yourself from the confusion to regain clarity and you’ll discover the answer is and will always be in the simple.

I’ll leave you with a Confucius saying
Man who paints toilet not necessarily a shithouse painter
Sorry wrong one
“Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated”.

Choose your path wisely.

Love to hear your comments

 
Friday 25th June 2010
 

Why worry?

 

Unless you have been hiding away in the mountains or you live life oblivious to what’s going on you would know that we are heading into tougher financial times ahead. Now this I believe is something we need to be aware of or at least it’s worth pay attention too.

 

Some people are talking the future to be full of gloom and doom they are worried what lays ahead, the thing is, whether we are heading for an economic downturn or not you need to be prepared. Even though we don’t know what is ahead worrying about it won’t change things so instead of worrying use this time to take stock of where you are, get back to the basics and reassess your core values.

 

I was reading an article just recently about the economic down-turn and it was commenting on how the Gen Y-ers were not going to let this (according to the article) “crisis” interfere with their life and if a recession occurs it’s not going to stop them enjoying themselves or going on their planned overseas trip.

 

Now that approach or attitude got me thinking, how often do we get told something and then go into a “chicken little” panic of gloom and doom thinking the world as we know it is going to end. I know a lot of people (myself included) give the Gen Y-ers a bit of a basing at times but this particular time I tend to like the way they think. They understand that yes we are heading into harder times but why let that stop you pursuing happiness and the things you want to do in life.

 

As we get older we tend to be less hasty with our decision making and become very analytical about what is best - lets call it a maturity thing. The point is the more analytical we become the less risk we take and the higher the anxiety or worry we place on ourself. Worry, anxiety or stress is becoming the number one killer in our society and we have developed into a nation of worriers, which has made us more susceptible to becoming depressed, sick, unhappy and unhealthy.

 

There is so much pressure these days to be perfect, to have everything in it’s place, everything running according to plan and this places a tremendous amount of unnecessary pressure on us to perform. Perfection isn’t going to happen and the reason why is because our life, our goals and situations are constantly changing and what you thought back then often changes as you grow and view things from a different perspective. How often when you reach a goal you realise another has superseded it, something a little more challenging something that stretches you further again - It’s called happy discontentment.

 

Everyone deserves to live life to the fullest and not get dragged down or hindered by external distractions that may or may not happen. Like the Gen Y-ers we shouldn’t let some predictions dictate what we can and can’t do, they have an excitement and desire to enjoy the journey, which is admirable (maybe a little naïve) but still admirable. The point I’m trying to make here is we need to spend less time listening to what other people are saying and start to listen to our inner voice.

 

Never stop doing the things that resonate with you, things that make your life that little more enjoyable and most importantly are in line with your purpose. Too often we listen to information and act on it without even digesting the content, which often causes “data dyspepsia” (anxiety and worry). Worrying only makes situations worse then because of it we tend to blow things way out of proportion create unnecessary angst for ourself and lose focus on what our true values are. We spend so much time and energy focusing on the

distractions in our life that we short-circuit our hard-wired system, which actually attracts the things we desire into our life.

I love this statement it’s very powerful and extremely apt

“You never see a worried magnet” 


We all know how a magnet functions and I’m sure we have all done the magnet under the paper trick where you have the iron filings or metal objects on top of the paper and move the magnet. What happens? Everything gets attracted to the magnet, it’s so simple yet so powerful. The magnet never changes its shape or colour, it doesn’t increase its work or use extra energy on stress in fact it doesn’t worry at all because it knows eventually those metal objects (its purpose) will gravitate towards it.

 

This analogy is what we need to do in our life. We need to stop worrying about the external objects and about how far out of reach they may or may not be. We need to take stock, look at the things we can control right now and use that to create a better life. Worrying only creates distraction and the more distractions you have going on in your life the greater the uncertainty therefore less clarity of purpose.

 

Be like the magnet – It keeps things simple, it never worries about what it’s missing out on, it never gets distracted by external issues it just focuses on its purpose, which most times it achieves.

 

No matter what the future holds listening less to the gloom and doom and use the magnet theory (simplicity) as a metaphor for life. Spend more time on what you can do right now, find your purpose for life and what makes you happy and in doing so you will generate an excitement for what’s ahead. Stop worrying about what you might miss out on and focus what you can have. Like the Rolling stones song – “you can’t always get what you want but if you try some times you get just what you need” and I believe that will make you very happy.

Choose your path wisely.

Love to hear your comments



Wednesday 9th June 2010

External sabotage


No matter who you are we all want to be successful and nobody (correct me if I’m wrong) lives life wanting to be average. I wouldn’t know of many people who wake up in the morning and says to themself, I hope I’m average today. We all try our best to create a better life but somewhere along the journey we will encounter some bad luck and adversity that can be either from an internal or external source.

Over the years I have begun to realise some of these adversities we encounter come under the title of sabotage, there are two types of sabotage - self and external. I would say we have all experienced episodes of self-sabotage where you are making great progress then for some bizarre reason you go off the rails and it’s amazing how creative we can become in doing this. The other form external sabotage is the one I want to talk about, this is usually caused by other people, someone (for whatever reason) who doesn’t want to see you succeed and they’ll try their best to destroy your progress.

External sabotage is extremely destructive to your progress and often kills your enthusiasm to succeed. This form of sabotage is unassuming, commonly executed by someone close to you, (partner, friend, peer group, associate, etc) and can be disguised as trying to help so it goes undetected for a long time. This is a real shock when you realise what is happening especially if it’s someone who you trust or care for.

Would they really do that?

You often fight (in your head) with the fact that surely a friend wouldn’t do that they are so nice to me but guess what - they do and can be very good at it.
The disappointing part is the person who you thought was supporting you, is actually quite envious of your desire to succeed. This desire can make them feel uncomfortable, intimidated, insecure or even jealous; they may become nasty, vindictive and selfish and try to destroy your happiness and/or success.

You know the situation, your confidence is growing, and you are feeling good about yourself and are in control. Then out of the blue a friend makes a comment about you in a condescending way and it makes you feel bad about your newfound confidence. The reason why this happens is because that person feels they have lost control over you, you are now happy with whom you are and they don’t like it, which makes them uncomfortable. The amount of times I have seen people fall victim to an external sabotage and accept it is phenomenal but the most devastating part is they let it impede their chances of success.

Ask anyone who has achieved any form of success, they will tell you they have had their fair share of detractors and say it wasn’t easy but if you stick to your goals, it’s well worth the effort. In any pursuit of success you will always meet people who will try to hinder your progress whether you let it stop you or not is the question.

My blood boils when I see and hear of people who are trying so hard to creative a better life but are being dragged down by others who would rather see them fail than succeed and be happy. To me someone having a desire to succeed is someone to be admired not someone to drag down, undermined or criticized. To achieve success is hard enough work without external factors obstructing your progress

No doubt we have all met someone like this and may have been shocked by what and why it has happened. They may have been the last person you expected to do such a thing and you fight internally about why. There is no point in trying to change what has already happened. What we need to understand, not everyone is going to be thrilled by our desire to become amazing and that’s something you have to deal. The question is how do we reduce the chances of it happening?

Game plan

Like in sport you may not be as talented as your opposition but if you have team rules and play to them you have a far better chance of winning than if you let your opposition take control. You need to set some rules for yourself, these rules will enable greater control of the situation thus increase your chances of success.

1. Don’t tag the dragger
If someone is dragging you down and you will know because you begin to doubt your beliefs, values and lose the enthusiasm for your purpose. You don’t need negative people around you try as much as possible to avoid them or if that is difficult spend less time with them.

2. Tackle them
Get tough and put an end to the rot, let them know you can see what they are doing and you don’t like it. Take control of the situation, the more forceful you become the more empowered you become and this will stop it from happening again.

3. Team tactics
Be aware of your associates - find a winning team. Hang with like-minded people, people who are happy to see you succeed and will support you not tear you down. Don’t go telling everyone about your dreams and ambitions – Remember not everyone is going to be as excited as you (I know hard to believe) so be selective.

4. Stick to your plan
Whenever you are pursuing a dream you will always get your cynics but never let them stop you, the key is to stick to your plan. Your success and whatever that may be is only relevant to you It may be a battle at times but believing in yourself and having the determination to overcome will out-weigh the short-term discomfort.

External sabotage is a complex subject that deals with our emotions, personalities, behaviour patterns and traits therefore to cover it properly I would have to write a book. The point is look at the areas you aren’t progressing in your pursuit of success it may well be that someone is sabotaging your thinking.


Love to hear your comments

Thursday 3rd June 2010

Life has no rules

Life is a funny thing it can seem so wonderful yet at times seem so cruel.
The thing is no matter what it throws at you at some stage you have to learn how to handle it. Some people spend a lot of their life hoping for things to get better while others seem to be able to shrug it off and get on with life - How does that work???

Two people faced with the same predicament - One goes into crisis mode and the other finds inspiration. One sits in their melancholy happiness (happily being sad) while the other (although going through the same emotional turmoil) can turn their feelings into a driving force, which changes their emotional state.

In life we all have choices and it’s the choices you make that determines your outcome. Recently I have had my fair share of emotional turmoil and during that time so many times I’ve asked the question what have I done to deserve this, it’s not a question of what or why, it’s more about how best can I handle it right now.

In life things (sh#t) happens and in reality life doesn’t actually have any rules. There’s no one formula for the perfect life (sorry to those waiting for the winning formula) because life isn’t fair and doesn’t have to be, in essence it’s these challenges that life throws at us that makes the journey more exciting. You’ve heard the saying what doesn’t kill us can only make us stronger, too often we don’t look for the strength in a situation, we just HOPE it gets better.

To have hope is great but hope alone without action wont change much! I’m a big believer in reading and listening to self-development/help books and audios because they give you the skills, knowledge and motivation to help create your best life but information without action is like having a car without wheels it’s not going to get you too far. Action is movement and with movement comes choices and by acting believe it or not you’ve already made a choice (a positive one) to adjust your behaviour to better suit the situation.

For example how many times have you thought I can’t believe my bad luck only to find it actually opened up an opportunity to change, become stronger, discover a better way, or grow in confidence? From experience I would never be doing what I do now (and loving it) if I hadn’t been made redundant many years ago!!

No doubt at some time in life you will encounter some type of adversity, bad luck or discomfort, it may not be fun but it just may be an opportunity for change and the greater your awareness of this, the greater your potential for growth.

Life today is fast, hectic and very results driven, we spend so much time rushing around and trying to be successful (whatever that means??) yet when we are confronted with adversity, rather than face it we actually hide using the “busy-ness” of life, which to distract us from the real issue. The reality is most of the time the issue is not going to go disappear in a hurry, you will eventually have to deal with it and if you’re not prepared, it can really smash you around.


To avoid getting upset, angry or disappointed every time you encounter adversity, bad luck or a discomforting issue, try to see the situation for what it is and instead of looking at the problem look for a way to produce the best outcome. Don’t get me wrong sometimes it may not always be as simple as flicking a switch and everything’s fine but unless you view the situation with opportunistic eyes you will never see the message it may be conveying.

By changing the way you view things you’ll discover the answer appears clearer and you just may be pleasantly surprised by outcome!

Choose your path wisely!

Love to hear your comments


Wednesday 4th March 2009


Love to hear your comments


 
 
 
 
 


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