The Sure-Fire Way to Make Huge Changes in Your Life
Small changes ADD UP.
Hi, Charlie here. You find yourself down the rabbit hole of your favorite fitness enthusiasts and decide you’re going to wake up tomorrow and start working out for two hours a day, or maybe go for a five mile run.
You make it through day 1, come hell or high water, but day 2, you can barely make it out of bed for work. So you take the day off of training, try to heal. But the following day you feel even worse. Maybe it takes you a full week to feel right again, and you are discouraged, thinking yet again, you’ve failed and need to start over.
This is the sure-fire way to frustration and quitting.
So how can we make huge changes in our lives?
… Start by making tiny changes in your life, one at a time.
In 2003, Sir Dave Brailsford took over the British Cycling Team. It’s a team that struggled for many years, having won only one Olympic Gold in 100 years, and having never won the sport’s most prestigious race, the Tour De France.
Dave wasn’t a professional cycling coach, and he’d only been an amateur cyclist.
Instead of trying to rebuild the perennially weak cycling team from scratch, he simply searched for ways to improve every aspect of the cyclists’ lives—training, nutrition, sleep, and equipment—by 1%. This has since been deemed the “Aggregation of Marginal Gains.”
By finding ways to make small, 1% improvements in various areas, added up to produce substantial gains overall.
He looked at the equipment the team were using and looked for marginal improvements to comfort. He hired a team to design overshorts for the riders to keep their muscles at the most optimum temperatures.
He had the riders bring their own pillows with them on tour so that they could get a better night’s sleep.
He looked at the diets of the team members and looked for small ways to improve their nutrition without causing digestive discomfort (as many supplements often do).
When a new tiny gain had been realized, he asked himself, “How do I improve this feature by 1% NOW?”
In 2008, the British Cycling team won 8 gold medals, 4 silver, and 2 bronze: More medals than in its entire history combined. Then two members of the team won the Tour de France four times combined over the next decade.
Small changes ADD UP.
You don’t need to radically change what you are doing overnight. You DO need to take stock of where you are at, and what you are presently doing, and look for ways to just get a little bit better every day.
How can you improve your rest and recovery? Maybe get off any devices/blue screens an hour before bed. Maybe just go to bed 15 minutes earlier.
My training has been very focused on building muscle for the last six months, and I’m training HARD. But my nutrition…let’s just say I rue the day that they put a Mighty Taco in our Gym Plaza.
I also work from home four days a week…right next to the food pantry. Nichole is a great cook, and barely an hour or two goes by without a new, fresh pot of coffee.. I knew I needed to get my nutrition back in line for my health. But I didn’t radically pick up a crash diet. I didn’t buy a bunch of fat burning supplements. This year, I just started writing it down.
I downloaded the MyFitnessPal app and started recording my food. And…I immediately started thinking more before each meal. I didn’t track calories or make use of the macro balancing feature, out of the gate. I literally just started entering my food into the app. That’s it.
If you're working out three days a week, maybe add a fourth. Or if you are feeling poorly from overtraining, look at your rest. Are you getting enough protein? Maybe just add one more protein snack a day for a bit.
We can help you with your 1% changes. We offer Nutrition coaching and Personal Training. Reach out to our staff at the front desk to book a consultation with Nichole.
Summer is coming!
It all begins with an idea.
Nichole here, it’s April 26th and it’s been freezing out and rainy. But guess what? Summer is coming up quick! It's time to shed some layers and get stronger and leaner! But how do you do that? Let's start with a different question. How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time.
Welcome to the Summer Shred Challenge! You have invested in yourself by taking the first step and we are happy to have you.
We want to be a little leaner in the summer, not in winter when everything is all hidden under our hoodies. So let's talk about how we can do that this summer, once and for all. Let's not let it get away from us this year, OK? Yeah, It's been cold and rainy this week but that will end before you know it. I froze at a track meet the other day and I just feel it's never going to get warm. So let's get down to business.
The process starts with setting goals. Right? Let's set some SMART goals.
Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time bound What is the specific first goal you want to achieve? Think about this, look at where you want to be in 90 days. We have 6 weeks together to help you get closer to your goal. We are starting the process together and giving you the tools to succeed.
Think about your house, you want to clean the whole house for a party. How are you going to do that? Not all at once that's for sure. Start in the living room, tidy up, vacuum, dust. Move onto the kitchen, clean the counters and floors, wipe down the fridge. Then move onto the bathrooms, and so forth. One bite at a time.
You want to shed a layer, lose 10lbs, that's your end goal.
Once you have your goal, how are you going to achieve that? The first thing to think about is diet, you need to be in a caloric deficit, that's the most recommended way to start losing weight. This means you have to track your calories and protein daily. Account for everything you eat and drink. Track what makes you feel good, what doesn't. You want to feel satiated all day without going over your calorie goal. That means whole foods, lots of water, lots of protein. Your specific need could be up to 1 gram per pound at your goal weight. We are here to help choose your calorie and protein targets and put you in that deficit.
Next up is to increase your activity!!!!!! Move more. Take an extra class. Do some strength training. Oh, we got you there! Go for a walk, get up a little more. Your lifestyle in Summer will naturally make you move more and get out because the weather is nice. It's not quite nice enough to do that so this is where the gym comes in!! We've added more classes to accommodate the season. Celebrate your movement! We also have personal trainers available and 1:1 nutrition coaching to make it easier. Feel free to setup a consultation to talk to me (Nichole) to see how we can best help.
Set a new persona for yourself. Become a new person and don't make the same mistakes. We want to avoid self sabotage. Let's throw out what's familiar from the past and try something new. Celebrate change and embrace the process. Use the Challenge tools that we are giving you, this is just a sample of what we offer that can help you achieve your goals in a longer term. We are here to direct you through the process and help hold you accountable. Make new friends, hold each other accountable. Talk about it. Go all in!
Take action now and look ahead! You've got great goals, you know you need to eat less, move more, keep accountable. Keep your goals present in the front of your mind. We all make excuses, oh it's a baby shower, I should eat everything, it's a celebration, it's a birthday. See previous step. Don't be that person anymore. It's a celebration but you don't need to blow your entire day. Plan ahead and think about what has the most protein. Every time you go out, think ahead, do it now. Where do you have plans to go? Do you have a vacation, wedding? Are YOU getting married? Think of all the things you have to do to properly enjoy that end point. Your wedding or vacation is your motivation to stay on track. We can help.
To sum it up
Set a SMART goal
Eat in a calorie deficit
Increase your activity
Set a new persona
Take action and have things to look forward to
We can do this together!