Performance Personal Training

Put gym-phobia behind you!

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It can be tough to start out. New gym, people you don’t know, most times you already don’t feel great about yourself, and now this, exercise! You’re expected to do things that you really don’t know how or if you can even do. HELP!!

We’ve helped many clients overcome the initial fear and hesitation, so much so that they discover that gyms can be a great place. They end up not only enjoying their time in the gym but they really look forward to it. It becomes that place where they actually end up feeling pretty strong (physically and mentally), empowered and supported.

Watch this video and you’ll hear from some of these clients who have gone through this exact transition with us at Performance Personal Training!

If you need some help overcoming your fear of the gym and keen for a place of support, knowledge and guidance, then get in touch with our team.

What’s this TRF about?

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There’s lots of different ways to control, alter and reduce your calorie intake of which time restricted feeding (TRF) is one of them. We’ve had some clients try it out, and one who has had some success is Tiff. If you’re thinking about giving it a go, keep reading to hear some of her thoughts on why it worked for her

With TRF or 16/8 you have a set feeding window with a long period of fasting

Why did you try TRF?

I first tried TRF during a diet phase when I seemed to have hit a plateau. My trainer asked me if I’d heard about TRF, which I hadn’t and so he explained what it was and we decided to give it a go to try a different approach.

What do you like about it?

I like that it’s easy for me to stick to and I feel that it works for me and my weight starts to shift.

How do you organise your meals?

When I tell people I’m doing TRF and explain what it is, most people say, “oh, so you just skip breakfast?” That is not the case. I don’t skip any meals, I eat the same amount of food/calories I would regularly but it’s just condensed into an 8 hour period.

Lots of different diet strategies used along the way for Tiff, including TRF

I eat my lunch at 12pm then I eat what I might typically eat for breakfast at about 3pm. I have a snack about 5 and dinner about 7. These meals are flexible and I may change what I eat and the timing depending on when I’m training on a particular day so that I’m still finished eating by 8pm.

How does it fit in with your kids/work/family?

It fits in with my lifestyle quite easily. At breakfast time my family all have their own individual choices and we don’t eat together. I pack my meals that I need for work and we eat dinner together. It still works on weekends and special occasions as social events usually happen at lunch or dinner, so I never feel like I’m missing out.

Why do you think it works for you?

I think it works for me because it’s something I can be consistent with and succeed at. I don’t find waiting until 12pm a problem and when I do eat, because it’s more frequent, I feel full and satisfied and don’t feel the need to snack in the night after 8pm. I also think it works because I can stick to my calories much better. If I started eating when I wake up, then there’s a lot more opportunity for me to eat what I’m not supposed to and potentially blow my daily calories and because of this, I lose the weight I’m wanting to. 

What type of person would you recommend it to, or specifically NOT recommend it to?

I’d recommend this to anyone looking to change things up, maybe you’ve hit a plateau, or for someone who needs a bit more structure and less time to snack, who doesn’t mind waiting for their morning coffee.

I wouldn’t recommend this for people who are shift workers. I don’t think this would work if you couldn’t constantly stick to the eating window.

We’re going to help you lose it!

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We get lots of questions but two that never seem to go away are:

“How do I lose weight?”

“Do I need cardio to lose weight loss?”

Well stop wondering cause we have the answers in these two quick videos.

Got any questions for our team or want to discover more about what we do here at Performance Personal Training to help our clients with their health and fitness, click here!

The Best Program for you? We’ve got it

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What is the best training program to build muscle?

What is the best training program to drop some body fat?

What is the best training program to gain strength?

Does the best training program for any of these even exist?

If you get out there and look around, you will see so many fitness influencers telling you that it does, in fact they’re trying to sell you on it. You know the ones, a standard cookie cutter program that will solve EVERYONE’s problem. 

Well we’ve got a different perspective when answering that question and it 100% puts you in the centre of it.

Everyone’s different – work, family, social life, eating habits, sleeping habits, stress levels, the lot. No two people are ever the same, so if you take that knowledge and apply it to training we’ve got a lot of differences to take into account, so how can there be one BEST program?

Enjoyable training

Instead we want to present to you a better approach on how to judge if a program is in fact the right one for you. To do this, lets look at its suitability! If it suits you, your goals and life, then you’re winning. 

Sound good? Great, then keep reading and we will share the 3 basic principles, to help you make this judgement. 

Principle #1 – REALISTIC

Is the training realistic for you? Think of everything that makes up your training program, exercise selection, intensity, frequency, duration, the lot. No point having the best program out there if it says you to train 5 days a week and you’re lucky to make 2 sessions

Principle #2 – ENJOYABLE

The peak training times for most are either before or after work. It’s their leisure time, their opportunity to unwind so this time should have an element of enjoyment otherwise you know what that means? It won’t get done! 

Principle #3 – FLEXIBLE

News flash, clients live in the real world with real demands. As coaches we’d love to hear that a client’s training is their number 1 priority, but we know that’s not true. While we go to a lot of time to think through and plan a client’s program, there needs to be some wiggle room for those moments when it might not go to plan. 

Now, if you’re to go back and revisit some of your most successful programs that got the best results, you’ll probably find that they tick all these boxes. Look to get more of this into your training and you’ll get where you want to be sooner!

NOTE: REF principles and concepts adapted from the The Muscle and Strength Pyramid – Training

What our community thinks

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We stopped wondering and started asking what our clients think about PPT. The answers they gave, well they surprised even us!

We try to make sure this is a welcoming environment, breaking down the usual stereotypes of gyms, so to hear that we are making progress on this and creating a community, a family, a support network…. we’re happy about that.

Hear for yourself what our clients say about our community.

To find out how you can become a part of this supportive community, get in touch with our team

Fruity Facts

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We often get asked by clients, old and new “can I eat fruit & still lose weight?”

The simple answer is YES!! Bananas, apples, strawberries… chances are these are not the reason you’re carrying around some extra kilos. We’ve unpacked this a little further in a super informative video series.

VIDEO 1 – Is Fruit Making You Fat?
We’re setting it straight, no if’s buts or maybe’s there’s an answer to this question in the video


VIDEO 2 – What’s in fruit?
What’s so special about fruit that makes it so great, but also so confusing!

VIDEO 3 – Fruit and Fructose?
Fructose, good or bad?

VIDEO 4 – Fibre and vitamins in fruit?
All the extras in fruit that make it so great

Still got a question or two about nutrition or training, then get in touch with our team

LET’S SET IT STRAIGHT

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With every year that passes, we have one wish in relation to the health and fitness industry. I wish that the BS would stop. The scaremongering, the lies, the total and utter nonsense that is put out there so that someone can either gain a profile, sell a diet, market a service, sell magazines, seal a sponsorship, whatever. The bullshit is rife and here’s our attempt at saying enough and setting some things straight.

We’ve collected a stack of common questions that still get asked that on the most part can be simply answered with a YES/NO.

And here we go….

  1. Can I eat Carbs? YES
  2. Will carbs make me fat? NO
  3. Will fats make me fat? NO
  4. Do I need to detox? NO
  5. Are calories important for fat loss? YES
  6. Do I need cardio to lose weight? NO
  7. Will resistance/weight training make me bulky? NO
  8. Do I need to cut out gluten? NO
  9. Can I eat clean and still gain weight? YES
  10. Can I squat if I have bad knees? YES
  11. Will deadlifting ruin my back? NO
  12. Are meal replacement shakes and pills good for you? NO
  13. Will “ab” exercises get me abs? NO
  14. Can I just drop fat from one section of my body? NO
  15. Is muscle soreness the only way to determine a good workout? NO
  16. Can lifting weights help me lose weight? YES
  17. Can body fat be measured accurately from scales at home/in the gym (even if they’re really expensive ones)? NO
  18. If I want to find out my body fat percentage, is a DEXA scan the best option? YES
  19. Will exercise improve my moods, mental health and state of mind? YES
  20. Do I need to exercise every day? NO
  21. Will getting PT “Kill Me”? NO
  22. Do I need to train like my trainer? NO
  23. I hate kale, coconut oil, cacao, can I still lose weight? YES
  24. Is paleo the best diet if I want to be healthy? NO
  25. Do I need to have a protein shake within an hour of training? NO
  26. Are supplements necessary for results? NO
  27. Pre-workouts, don’t like them do I need them? NO
  28. Is it better to have a program and direction in training if I want results? YES
  29. Will a PT give me personalised advice that fits in with my lifestyle and goals? YES
  30. Is it better to get fit first before getting the help of a PT? NO
  31. Can I eat carbs after 5pm? YES
  32. As I get fitter and stronger, does it ever get easier? NO
  33. Does drastic weight loss come from muscle as well? YES
  34. Do I need protein even if Im trying to drop weight? YES
  35. Is Pilates the only way to get a strong core? NO
  36. Do I need to cut out dairy to be healthy? NO
  37. I don’t enjoy exercising, will I ever like it? YES
  38. I hate fish but everyone says to eat salmon or tuna, do I need to? NO
  39. Is it necessary to eat 6 times a day? NO
  40. Will I ever eat cake again? YES
  41. Can I be a vegetarian and still get my protein in? YES
  42. There’s an online program that a famous fitness model sells, is it the one she did to get in shape? NO
  43. Are all gyms the same, cause they make me feel uncomfortable? NO
  44. Is a simple bodyweight circuit all it takes to get in shape? NO
  45. Is crawling out of the gym the sign of a good workout? NO
results
These clients all ate carbs and dropped fat!

Results take time, effort, planning, support and most of all CONSISTENCY. If you need help to achieve them, get in touch with our team and we will work with you on an approach that will fit in with your lifestyle!

Understanding the Scales

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With every New Year, there’s usually a resolution, and amongst those made the vast majority are about (cue the drumroll)…. WEIGHT LOSS.

Its not really that surprising, with a brand new year, the intention is there for many to drop a few kilos, start to eat better, exercise, get healthy whatever. Well, before you decide to measure your success on what the scales tell you, first you might want to find out a little more about what and how the scales can be affected. If dropping “x”kgs is a goal for you this year, then this is a video you need to watch.

Better Goals with 3 Steps

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goals

It’s December, and even though we’ve been talking goals with client’s all year, for some people out there, you’re looking to 2019 and thinking

“What are my goals and what do I want from next year?”

Whether it’s health and fitness or something else entirely, the link below will help you out with 3 tips to help you anyone set better goals for the new year.

CLICK HERE FOR OUR 3 TIPS!!

 

DON’T SAY THE “F” WORD

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“It’s not a mistake if you learn from it.”

But what about when you think you F-F-F….Failed?

Fact is, sometimes failure is just a huge mistake of monumental proportions that make you feel terrible, pretty crap, and miserable, so how do you pick back up and get on with it.

You learn from it. You pull that shitty moment apart, dissect it, separate the good from the bad even when you think there’s no good whatsoever, cause believe me, if you look hard enough, you will find some good amongst it.

This blog is my attempt to try and turnaround around a recent disaster meet for me at competition. I defied the odds, but not in a good way, I went into that meet the most experienced female lifter of the day and I bombed. Surprised myself and pretty much everyone else who knew me and if the earth could have opened and swallowed me up, at the time I would have jumped in with two feet.

While I try and help myself manage my own disappointment, I’m seeing a huge opportunity to help others. I am constantly telling clients to hit the reset button, so this is my chance to do that and lead from the front. This isn’t accepting mediocre or telling anyone its OK to be complacent, on the contrary. I’m hoping it helps someone else out there to hit reset so that they will push harder, further and achieve more without giving up.

That moment of disappointment

Why share all this with you all?

  1. Because I’m human. Some clients might think otherwise but I’m here to tell you that us coaches do suffer a lot of the same trials and setbacks as everyone else. It isn’t any easier for us
  2. To remind everyone that the process is never a linear one constantly rewarding you with progress. Challenges come in and how we rise and response to them are important. Coming out the other side a little bashed up is ok, but you’ve got to get out to mend.
  3. I believe mistakes are a useful tool in our development and the second we learn from it, they’re no longer mistakes, they’re growth opportunities. Own your mistakes and grow from them, I know I will.
  4. To demonstrate to everyone that 1 moment doesn’t define you. The power lies within you to turn it around

I could waffle on but at this point it’s so important for me to bring this back to how I feel my experience and sharing it relates to clients that I deal with every day.

You’ll have your struggles, you will have the day that you will:

  • eat poorly,
  • have a bad session
  • skip a workout
  • allow yourself 1 drink and end up on a bender
  • give in to all temptation and display zero self control or willpower
  • want to give up cause it seems too hard

Those times a quick catch up turns into a big night.

So many more examples to list, but let’s bundle it into one massive collective group as “all the crappy stuff”. It’s what happens next that really shows the metal of a person. This is where the magic happens.  Are you snowballing into self pity, or picking it all back up? I hope for your sake it’s the later. I know I am, and it’s not cause I’m awesome, special or fabulous, it’s because I’m blessed to have the love and support of a fabulous family and gym family. People who believe in me probably more than I do in myself.

Find those people and so much of the pitfalls become irrelevant. Your focus shifts to becoming better and before you know it you have a plan for success, not failure (there’s the F word again). This is 100% what has helped me wade through this time and come back out the other side, ready to push myself. I’m ready to set some goals and go for it again, who is with me?