Today Paul Miller Personal Trainer Hawkes Bay brings you a mad rambling about life
Here are 21 lessons I have learned in the quest for health, fat loss and a more fulfilled life
1 – Be a player.
In the game of life you can either sit on the bench and observe or you can get in the game. Those that choose to get in the game are often rewarded whether it be financially, spiritually or their wellbeing. No great achievement is possible without taking action and putting yourself out there.
2 – Lifting super heavy weights with minimal rest
This is not only an incredibly effective way to get strong but it is also a great way to blowtorch bodyfat
3 – A green smoothie for breakfast is a great way to start the day.
It’s packed with nutrients and very alkalizing for the body. Nuzest’s Good Green Stuff is a good product. http://www.nuzest.co.nz/good-green-stuff
4 – Try your best to not criticise, condemn or complain.
Criticism from superiors destroys the ambition of a person. Be eager to praise and loathe to find fault.
5 – For an amazingly effective fat loss workout give the Kettlebell 300 a go.
The goal is to get through the workout as fast as you can. Start with 25 KB swings on your right side and then move to 25 KB swings on your left. Choose a weight that is challenging enough for you. I recommend guys should be on at least 16kg and females 12kg. The record at Results Personal Training stands at 13 minutes and 2 seconds with a 20kg Kettlebell
25 Swings (r&l)
25 Cleans (r&l)
25 Push press (r&l)
25 Reverse Lunges (r&l)
25 Snatches (r&l)
25 Squat and Press (r&l)
6 – For fat loss, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
Mind you not just any breakfast will do. Switching your grain based cereals for a high protein breakfast has time and time again got people to lose a substantial amount of fat, its super simple and super effective.
7 – The number seven is my favourite number.
It pops up everywhere from religion to fairy tales. We have seven days in the week, it is thought that the world was created in seven days, it is the symbol of eternal life for the Egyptians, there are seven directions (left, right, up, down, forward, back and centre). There are seven notes of a musical scale and we also have seven skies, seven heavens, seven seas, seven climes, seven dwarves, seven sins, becoming seven years old is considered to be a turning point in child development. And there’s the so called seven-year-itch in marriage.
So what’s my point, I don’t have one I just like the number 7
8 – Fats are the ultimate functional food.
Eating the right types, in the right amounts at the right times can do wondrous things for your physique.
9 – As humans we shouldn’t really need to ‘warm up’.
Lions don’t warm up before they sprint for their dinner, dogs don’t warm up before they go and chase the neighbour’s cat and I am pretty sure our ancestors didn’t warm up before they had to run for their lives when being chased by Sabre toothed tigers. Now I am not saying that warming up is bad, in fact it’s essential in this day and age if you don’t want to pull a hamstring. But it’s only essential because we sit on our asses all day resulting in short, tight muscles.
Here’s a thought – Maybe if we did what we are designed to do (stand, walk and lie down) then we might not need to do so much warming up?
10 – Believe in yourself.
Know how ridiculously amazing you are. The chances of you being born are 400 trillion to one, that’s no accident, you wanted to be here on earth. But you chose to be here for better reasons than working a 9-5 job for someone you don’t like, to be paid less than you’re worth and to go home after a day of work only to put the TV on for a few hours before you go to bed. Give it up, follow your dreams, passions and find your bliss.
11 – There is no one size fits all when it comes to diets.
Everybody is uniquely different and requires a different approach. Some people do better on higher carbohydrate diets and some on higher fat diets. These differences stem from our ancestral backgrounds. If your family line ties back to the Maasai you will need a very different diet to if you family history goes back to the Inuit’s.
12 – Dogs are awesome.
They sleep when they are tired, they eat when they are hungry and they never judge. This weekend take off your watch and live like a dog.
13 – ‘I don’t have time’ is a bullshit excuse.
I used to tell myself that same lie for years, then I figured it out. Of course I have the time, I was just choosing to not make time. Most people spend hours and hours each day busy working or doing trivial nonsense that makes absolutely no difference to enhance the quality of their current life. How you prioritise your life is up to you, you have the power of choice
14 – Eating too many carbohydrates will make you fat.
Simply put the number 1 factor to manipulate fat loss is carbohydrates
15 – Keep it SIMPLE.
Sometimes we make life and business far more complicated than it needs to be. In fact sometimes we complicate it so much that we end up with paralysis by analysis. Listen to your gut and then go do what you need to do.
16 – Proper movement is critical.
Getting a six pack is sexy, improving your performance is sexy but mobility drills, stretching, activation exercises and soft tissue release are not sexy. While movement drills are less appealing, it is pivotal to reaching any goal in training. The more efficient your body works the better you can deliver the outputs you want from it. Think of it like this ‘having poor movement is like trying to shoot a canon from a canoe ‘
17 – 80% of your goals, come from 20% of your effort.
The key is to figure out what that 20% is. Here is what I think…
Nutrition – ditch the excess amount of carbs you’re eating.
Training – Stick to the big bang for your buck exercises and train intensely
Recovery – Sleep more
18 – Do the opposite from everyone else.
If you go into any commercial gym you will find that the majority of people there are either on the elliptical trainer, a stationary bike or walking on the treadmill. Having worked in commercial gyms for many years I can tell you it’s these people that look the same year in year out. ‘Get off the cardio machines and start lifting some weights’
19 – When you’re having a bad day, look back at all that you have achieved.
However small or insignificant it may seem.
20 – After a breakdown there is always a breakthrough
The hardest moments in life always give you the greatest lessons
21 – Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Often I get asked ‘what is the one thing I can do to get results?’ My answer is simple – get out of your comfort zone more. Push harder, try new things and do the things that scare you most
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