No Pain No Gain?
Listener Request!
Let's talk about pain or discomfort you might experience when working out.
Should you work through it? Is it ever good? What about when you're sick - workout or not? In this episode we cover;
Coming to the gym with an injury
Auto-immune conditions
When you’re not well
STOP using weight to assess health (get married instead!)
We are a culture obsessed with what people weigh!
Weight is a risk factor for many preventable diseases but it doesn’t mean that slim people are necessarily healthy!
Under Pressure - from your goals!
This episode is for everyone who's ever said...
I'm not setting goals right now
I feel too much pressure
it's giving me anxiety
I just want to... i.e. come for my mental health
I've got too much on right now
I'm happy where I am
I can't think of anything
... in relation to their goal setting.
Let’s Talk About HalfAssing!
I know you've all just recognised yourself in the title, so we're getting into it and I'll warn you, this one cut deep for us!
Half-assing is when you're trying hard, feeling like you’re pulling out the stops, aiming for 3 workouts a week, and finding you only did 6 in a month!
When you’re half assing you’re doing just enough to be in your comfort zone of trying, but not enough to make a real difference to get the outcomes. You really do feel like you're trying. In fact, that's probably what you'll say, "I'm trying"... a lot!
Letting Go of Blame
We're back on a topic which we have already explored in a 6 episode mini-series back in 2021 (links below to those episodes) but it is a topic that just keeps on giving!
Whether you call them excuses or reasons, we all have them and we felt it was time to revisit this topic that already took up much of our time to see if, over the last 2 years we've changed our minds about anything we said.
When to Quit…
It's all very well being OK with failing, but how do you decide when it is OK to quit, and when you just need to push a little?
Sometimes, you try something and it’s not what you thought it would be i.e. you like the idea more than the reality!
The most dangerous form of quitting is not bothering and staying in your comfort zone. This is playing not to lose, we're not achieving goals, but also, we're not “not achieving” them!
We've drilled down some questions to help you decide if you should quit or lean in...
20 Reasons to Exercise;
We've been wanting to do this one for a while!
It's time to change how we talk about exercise (and weight loss), especially for women and even more especially for young girls. The association of weight with health, and weight with looking good, and the fact that if you are "slim" then you must be both healthy and fit are all falsehoods.
10 Ways to Stay Focused
This topic came from a member question about HOW do you stay focused - so yeah, we're talking about distractions! Because man there are a lot of things out there designed to keep you right where you are, happily distracted from your real purpose each day.
We get into the distractions and of course we've got some strategies for you - 10 no less!
First of all - what distracts you from doing the things you really want to and should be doing?
Self Compassion
"Self compassion is a practice of good will and not good feelings"
Why are we so so hard on ourselves?
It is unlikely you would say to anyone the things you say to yourself, especially when they've "messed up", but we will very quickly berate ourselves, and really, where does it get us. We have enough external influences trying to bury our self-esteem deep in the ground without doing it to ourselves.
What Does Success Look Like?
So many people, especially women are unable to see or celebrate their own success. We’re conditioned that it’s only one way - the BIG way! The big promotion of the big weight loss.
We need to remember the small successes and achievements along the way.
The Problem with Goals
We are big fans of goal setting, we talk about it a LOT because it's something so many people don't do, especially in our world. Or their goal is simply a number on the scale (or rather off it), something that's over simplified and doesn't reflect the actions needed, how often they should be repeated and over what time.
Activity/Fitness Trackers; do they change your life?
During our challenge those with trackers were always top - is that because they've got a tracker, or have they got a tracker because they're really active, or is it because the tracker tracks every single breath and step they take?
Getting Started with Habits
Our first "proper" episode of our new season is a Book Club Episode about the incredible book that is Atomic Habits by James Clear.
We're talking about getting started with habits the right way, as opposed to getting started and falling by the way side, or feeling like we have to rely on will power or discipline (see pages 60-64).
We’re Back!
It's been a while!
It's even been a while since we recorded this episode. What gives?
I'm sure many of you have experienced something similar as lockdown restrictions have been lifted, and we gradually restored our lives. First there was the elation, and life still felt a little restricted and also leisurely. Then the cogs started dropping into place and the wheels started turning and there seemed to be so much to catch up on…
Wear The Shorts
We've been having LOTS of conversation in the gym about why we don't wear the shorts (the sleeveless top, the dress etc etc.)
We're not letting this go and have launched a "Wear the Shorts" campaign!
Lack of Willpower isn’t Your Problem
Decision fatigue (also known as choice overload) is the diversion of your finite mental resources to excessive or non-essential problem solving.
These are the things that push into your mental (and physical) space that force you to weight up options for reallocating your time. You might recognise them by the nagging feeling that you should be doing something else, or be somewhere else!
Your Space and Your Motivation
If you’re lacking energy and enthusiasm for your goals take a look around you. Is your space dragging you down? Or even, just parts of your space? How can you make nutritious meals easily if you are overwhelmed by your kitchen?
When you break your large goal into smaller tasks and STILL feel overwhelmed!
Take a big goal and break it down into small tasks… that’s the advice everyone gives, and it’s supposed to make the big task feel LESS overwhelming. But what if it doesn’t help you? You just went from having one thing to do, to having thirty things to do!
Staying on track with YOUR health and wellbeing - Christmas is JUST for Christmas!
We're not ruining Christmas here and telling you that you can't have a mince pie - in fact, just the opposite. We want you to have a mince pie AND enjoy the chocolate out of your advent calendar. One of us is a Grinch and one of us is Santa's Elf so this conversation is a good balance.