Are you burning calories or money? The 3 point checklist for your Personal Trainer

Would you trust a 19 year old self-obsessed ‘know-it-all’ with your health and fitness?

The Australian Fitness Industry is likely the most unregulated professional space in our country.

There is no minimum legal requirement to become a certified insured trainer.

So what does this mean for you?

It means you as the consumer have no idea of knowing what qualifies a trainer to be ‘good’, ‘bad’ or something in between.
 

There is no seal of approval, no badge of authority and no certificate of professionalism.

You are screwed.

Fortunately after reading this article you are going to be better educated when finding your next coach, trainer or nutritionist.

Here is a checklist to run through...

Note: I will be using the words ‘trainer’, ‘coach’, ‘professional’ to describe the same job. A person who gets paid to train other people in a physical manner for health and fitness.
 

     1. Industry experience

Do you remember your first day at high school?
Your first day at uni?

Or your first day in your current job?

Despite everything you thought you knew, the amount of books you read and advice you sought out…

Nothing could prepare for actually doing the damn thing.

The fitness industry is no different.
Nothing replaces experience.

The difference between 1 and 5 years experience is monumental. You know this.

5 years means years of making stupid recommendations, trialling strange diets and getting mixed results.

As a trainer this trial and error allows time to refine the process to what really works.

Start by finding someone who has pushed past the initial 3 years when most trainers burn out.
This is someone who doesn’t need passion and motivation any more.

This is a professional who wants to be there and get you results.

The 20 person coaching staff at Creature combines 3 decades of industry experience from every corner of fitness - see the team here.

      2. Qualifications

With 1000+ courses available to anyone deciding to become a trainer.
Choosing a starting point is a tough gig.

For you as the customer it is nearly impossible to know what is reputable and what is not.

The industries most common certifications are the Cert III & IV.
Marketed to young ‘wannabes’ selling the dream. Leading them to believe legally they must need it.

This is not true nor does it instantly qualify you as a trainer. To be honest I don’t even know what does. There is no official moment when you become a trainer  

Before we go any further you need to know this…

Our big name franchise gyms in Australia have done 2 things.

Firstly some are in partnership with certain Fitness Education Companies.

On the flop the big name gyms promote their ‘trusted partnership’ with the educational company.

It’s a 2-way street.

Big name gym sells the dream of being a trainer but only if you get certified with company X.
Company X sets up incentive schemes for young graduates to go work for the big name gym.

This is how it is working on paper and I’m not saying it’s wrong.

I just want to give you an idea of the level of theory and practice most coaches have before their first day.
 

I mean if you’re going to pay and hire someone I’d want a good idea of how they got their ‘qualifications’.
 

The second most common qualifications are university degrees.

Bachelors of ‘Sports management’, ‘Sports science’, ‘Exercise Physiology’ and probably a few more new ones I’m not familiar with.

A massive theoretical knowledge base… yes.

But having done one myself I know for certain it doesn’t not prepare you for many things.

What I didn’t learn:

• How to understand client psychology

• How to shut up and listen

• How to value your skills and sell yourself

• How to communicate advice appropriately

• How to know what type of clients you really want to work with

• Exposure to the whole sphere of training and exercise dogmas not just the things they study in a lab

• The value of anecdotal evidence
   

So what can you take away form this...

A good rule is to look for a long and mixed list of qualifications.

Why?

Because regular exposure to different training philosophies says “I am not stuck in my ways. There is always more to learn and I want to seek as much knowledge as possible to help myself and my clients.”

 

3. Practice what you preach

Trainers often give more advice than they should.

I believe as long as they ‘practice what they preach’ it is advice worth listening to.

There are multiple aspects to consider...

• What is the trainer’s lifestyle?
  Are they busy like you?
  What else is going on in their life?
  Can you relate to a trainer whose only focus in their life is training and eating?
  
  To create trust their must be understanding.

A trainer who is not time poor may not have ever needed to seek the most time efficient training methods.

They may not know useful tips for eating healthy whilst travelling or how to cook for a week's worth of food in 2 hours.
Seek a trainer who understands your lifestyle through their own experience.
 

• What kind of shape are they in?
  Do you want to achieve similar results to them?
  
  If their advice is so good it will be something they have used to on themselves.

Would you hire an accountant who owes the ATO money?
 

• If coaching and accountability is so valuable then they will their own coach.
  One of the most important rules is “coaches need coaches”.

Well there you have it.

Hopefully this gives you a better understanding of the people which make up the fitness industry.

I hope you invest wisely.

You can alway go here to see my list of qualifications if you want to see if I practice what i preach. 

Why people almost always under-perform in The Open and how to fix it

I want to start by saying this blog is something I have wanted to write for a long time.

I’m glad I have been able to finally organise my thoughts.

I hope you get something positive out of this.
Something you can go away and implement immediately. I hope you enjoy your CrossFit Open experience more after reading this.

The CrossFit Open. The start of the CrossFit Games season.
A sport dedicated to finding the ‘fittest on earth’.

This will be my 6th year in the sport… what year will it be for you?

This year at my gym we have over 100 athletes/clients participating.
In a very unique scenario you can all match yourselves against the fittest people in the entire world.

For you this may be a complete disaster.

Because of its youth CrossFit attracts athletes of all calibers.
Ex-professional athletes, globo gym meatheads and first time exercisers.

No other sport in the world stacks professional athletes directly against complete novice athletes.

They share the same arena, do exactly the same workouts and share a leaderboard.
 

CrossFit HQ (the marketing genius) does a great way of chalking this up to be something special and exciting…
I mostly disagree.
 

All I have seen this do is leave many people bitter and distracted from why they are really competing in CrossFit.

The worldwide  leaderboard negatively influences ‘why’ people start and continue to do CrossFit.

For athletes at the gym it goes from “lose 10kg to be healthier for my kids” to “top 100 in my region”.

I’m sure this has happened to you or someone you know.

But why?

And how do we know if it is a good or a bad thing?

We are competitive by nature.

Whether you identify as a ‘competitor’ or not it is an inescapable property built into your DNA.

An evolutionary trait designed to keep us alive.

Our environment since we were born has always rewarded the best performers. Gold stars, special mentions and more love/approval from others for being better.

You get the idea…

But why is this showing up now in The Open?
For a lot of people their competitive side has been sleeping.
Starting a career, joining the workforce and creating a family has left a sleeping beast dormant for many years until now.
 

You’ve got this awakened beast and The Open is your new stomping ground.

So how can we set up the right expectations.
How can we balance reality and ambition…?

Knowing how to do this will have us not only enjoying The Open more but feeling fulfilled at the end of a long 5 weeks.

As The Open rolls in daily priorities begin to shift.

What once was a casual friday night training session leading into a relaxing weekend with friends has now become a 4-day obsession with stalking games.crossfit.com/leaderboard.

You cuss every competitor, watch every workout tips video and lose sleep over the possibility you may not hit the ‘top X’ you have become so blindlessly attached too.

You begin to value your place on The Open Leaderboard more than anything.

I am not here to judge you and tell you there is something wrong with you.

I just know if you’re like 99% of people doing it you cannot rationalise why you have set this goal.
But you will achieve it at all costs.

I just want it to be worth it for you.

So…
You want to be top 500… 30… 1000 in your region?

BUT

Did you consider…

• CrossFit HQ have built a subjective judging system. Do you trust the integrity of every judge and affiliate owner in the world?

• Performing at 101% of your true capacity each week is nearly impossible (capacity is separate to effort).

• Other people are just better than you in these 5 workouts. In another 5 workouts you might be better

• The rules can change at any time. What you trained for all year may not even show up

• You could get sick in week 3 and bomb out

What is the one thing all the above has in common?

They are out of your control.

This alone should be enough to detach from your result. There are so many things which change the number on the board and you can’t do anything about it.

It seems silly to think you would judge the success of a whole years training on just one single number.

Would being 499 in your region really be worth…

Not having a drink at your mates wedding...
Skipping the movie because it ends at 10pm...
Or not watching your kids sport because you’re training…?

You might answer yes.
Yes because when you see the number you will have proved to yourself you can accomplish what you thought was impossible.
You left what was less important for a goal which has left you fulfilled.
You know it was worth it because this is what training is for you.
It is not to be enjoyed.
It is about suffering and sacrifice to do well in your sport no matter what.

You will die for points.

Or no.
Maybe you expected people to take notice of your ranking. You thought people might respect you more, take your more seriously or finally follow you on instagram.

Maybe reaching your goal has left you feeling empty.
And just maybe it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.

Your career, relationship and social life has taken a hit.

Yeah you’re top 500 in your region but now you realise there is way more to life than The Open. You’re not even going to compete again for another 12 months.

Do you really want to go through all the grinding again?

Perhaps you need to reevaluate your approach to training.

Realign with why you are doing it and take some time off.

So what are the reasons you should do The Open…

• To tackle fear. Because without fear there is no courage. For The Open you will need courage. And being courageous is an amazing feeling.
   

• To max out. Nothing can be more painful yet more rewarding than going well beyond your pain threshold. To dig further than you ever have and see what you are really made of.
   

• To have fun. No I mean it. To actually have an awesome time crushing a workout with everyone at your gym. To finish and not talk about the score but instead the hilarious moments of agony and laugh about them… try it.
   

• To be inspired. Look around at your amazing community and let it soak in. You are all doing what you never thought possible pushing yourselves through crazy workouts. Getting your first pull up, jumping over boxes and going DEEP into the hurt locker. It’s pretty cool stuff.

And remember it’s just exercise.

5 simple ways any athlete can improve their Double Unders

Double Unders (DUs) might go down in history as the most frustrating movement ever made mainstream.

Very few people find it easy.

For most it is a grind to learn the skill. Months of whippings, frayed wires and a sore throat from frustration.

There are many components you need to master to make DUs as effortless as walking.
 

So whether you have just got your first DU or you are seeking 200+ these are the elements to master:
 

     1. Wand-grip
 

This grip allows you to pinch the rope in the most effective way to best ‘feel’ the movement of the wire.

This grip also allows you to be loose and tight.
Maximum speed minimum energy.

Relaxed and fast.

Mastering this grip will give you the most accurate ‘feel’ of the rope.
Allowing you to make mid flight adjustments. An important skill under fatigue.
 

     2. Bent elbow and wrist
 

This is how you can master your mechanics.

Too often I hear my clients complain how skipping burns out their shoulders. Add in pull ups or handstands and you quickly burn through your shoulders.

So how can we prevent this… and most importantly what causes this?
 

Now I can’t see you skipping....

But if your arm is straight or almost straight the rotation and effort will come from the shoulder. Not good.

Bending at the elbow and at the wrist will distribute the work to the bicep, forearms and fingers allowing your shoulders to relax during the movement increasing your efficiency.

    3. Bad posture
 

Contrary to what you may think I believe a relaxed head forward shoulders forward posture  is the most efficient way to skip.

You may have been told to pin your shoulders back, jump tall and stay tight and hollow.

Those positions for 99% of people are unnatural and burn energy.

When you're jumping you should be in a relaxed position. The tightness will come from a well developed spring in your achilles and calf (we’ll get to that).

Being relaxed allows you to breathe better turning DUs into a recovery movement.

 

   4. Rope length
 

I want you to imagine yourself skipping.

As the rope passes under your feet does it hit the ground?
How hard does it hit the ground?
How much sound does it make?

Answering these questions can reveal a key in your rope speed efficiency.

Firstly there are many rope types and weights.

I assume by this point you have found one which works well for you.

If you have not. Go buy a rope.

The more advanced you become at skipping the shorter you need to make your rope length. A shorter rope means less contact with the floor and a faster turnover.

This equates to less effort to spin the rope and faster reps.
So if you can do DUs well but can’t seem to make your rope turn any faster consider taking an inch off the length and see what happens.

5. The correct jump

The biggest mistake of all when it comes to DUs is not having the strength to jump correctly.

Having a weak jump is like having a weak back for deadlifts. You need a strong enduring jump to do DUs.

How do you know if you can jump well?

The quickest way I know is the difference between your single skip jump and your double under jump.

There should be almost NO DIFFERENCE.

The best example I have ever seen is by Chris Spealler - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7XjUbUpeHE

So when you’re ready to pass the rope under your feet twice you don’t need to make 6 times the space. Spin the rope faster don’t jump higher.

The best way to work on your jumping is to do more slow single skips focusing on being springy and jumping straight.

Build this solid base first.
Be light when you jump.

Practice everyday for 5 minutes and see the results flourish.

3 performance boosting supplements most athletes overlook

When it comes to reaching the highest levels of performance few topics are more debated than nutrition.

There are not many things vegans, paleo people and flexible dieters agree on.
You constantly hear convincing arguments on all sides.

But what can you rely on?
What is universally true?
What can you take to give you tangible results?

Here are the three proven performance enhancers:

1. Electrolyte hydration mix.

Even though you know hydration is important.
I’m here to tell you how important it really is.
I’m here to remind you about some shocking but real facts.

0.5% decrease in your body weight (due to water loss) puts an increased strain on your heart.

1% a decrease in your aerobic endurance.

3% a decrease in your muscular endurance.

Have you ever weighed yourself before and after training...

It’s not hard to lose half a percent.
You could lose half a percent just walking to the gym on a summer day.

Unfortunately our bodies are slow to tell us we are dehydrated.

Thirst usually occurs after the body has already lost 1-2% of it’s weight in water.
 

My recommendation:

My clients use a simple and effective hydration strategy.

At least half a litre of water everyday upon waking.
Another half a litre consumed 1 hour before training. Allowing proper absorption.

As well adding a 1/10 dilution of sugar and electrolytes (sports drink powder) to increase the speed of hydration before a workout.

2. Caffeine

Consuming caffeine is one of the most effective ways to increase your performance.

When you drink a cup of coffee you feel a tangible difference in your level of energy, focus and motivation.
Increasing the dose increases the effects.

Double blind placebo studies show time and again improved aerobic endurance with caffeine consumption.
The studies also show an increased pain tolerance and increased strength metrics.

The effect on the brain is what most theories are crediting for the increased performance.

By enhancing mental attributes you positively affect the physical.
 

My recommendation:  

I get my clients to start slow.
Not everyone tolerates caffeine the same.
Genetic studies are also beginning to show caffeine metabolism varies hugely from person to person.

What might take me 5 hours to metabolise might take you 3 days.

So start slow and don’t overdo it.

Make sure if you’re an evening exerciser to have it around midday.
Too close to bedtime will have a negative effect on your sleep.

3. Curcumin

You probably have at some point experienced an injury or some uncomfortable joint pain.
You also know this pain holds you back from getting fitter, faster and stronger.

I look back over my long injury history plagued with various joint issues and can clearly see how my performance was held back.

Enter Curcumin.
One of the most effective natural supplements to reducing overall joint pain and inflammation.
A consistent high dose can give you effective relief from joint pain, stiffness and inflammatory symptoms.
 

My recommendation:
 

In the same way you would take anti-inflammatory medicine (which I don’t advise) is the same way you take curcumin.
As far as I know it is the safest and most effective way to relieve pain.

Take 400-500 mg daily and see how your symptoms react.

Be wary of long term regular use.

Take it sparingly in periods when pain levels are seriously reducing your performance.

Naturally occurring in turmeric means adding it into recipes can be a good way to build it into your diet long term.

You should also take it with black pepper which increases its absorption.

So...

There you have it.
Three essential additions to any diet to enhance performance.

Science and dogma both agree so go for it.

Want to know more on performance supplements? 

There are many more supplements I get my clients to take.

Fat loss, mental performance and muscle gain are of our most sought after protocols. 

If you're curious in boosting performance with supplements learn more below.

The 5 conditioning mistakes elite athletes NEVER make

“I want to be fitter… run longer, jump higher and never get tired”

How can you increase your fitness if you’re already ‘fit’?

There was a day some time ago when you embarked on your fitness journey.
Whether you chose to start running or join a gym you made a decision to ‘be fitter’.

But you’re not like everyone else are you?

You discovered that you’re extremely motivated. You push yourself to continually make progress.
Unlike the average ‘fitness enthusiast’ you choose to make training a larger part of your life.

Now you want to know...

How can you keep increasing your endurance?

Reaching your fitness potential is an art.
A complex process in which many factors influence your bodies ability to progress.
 

If you’re serious about reaching your potential you need to avoid these common mistakes.

Avoid doing...

1. More of the same

Doing more of something to improve it seems logical.

However…
More is not always better especially when it comes to fitness.

The truth is…

More can be better.

If you’re mixing up your endurance training correctly you can still make progress.

But doing the same 45 second interval class everyday will bring your fitness to a slow death.

Be smart with your endurance work.
The program I write at Creature is layered with effective endurance models allowing for continual progress.
Well balanced high and low intensity training allows the body to progress faster.

2. No days off
 

You know recovery is important.

Think of your lungs and heart as your ‘fitness muscles’.

Like other ‘muscles’ they need to be trained hard to improve.
They also need to be rested to grow and recover.
 

The heart and lungs are damaged from intense exercise.

They tear, bleed and temporarily weaken after hard training.

It is important then to have proper recovery in your program to give them rest.
 

3. Improper pacing

Nothing is more fatiguing than poor pacing.
No matter what sport or exercise you do pacing is an essential part of fitness.

RPE (Rate of perceived exertion), heart rate monitoring and effort levels are all tools used by coaches to improve pacing.
Improving your pacing can mean faster times despite no actual increase in physical fitness.
 

All great coaches know...
 

The more accurately you can pace a workout to your physical ability the further you can stretch your body's limits.

Learning to pace properly is simply a matter of being more conscious in your training.
Write down, video and monitor your training closely.

Experiment with various strategies to see how your body reacts.
If you want to perform at your best this is an essential process.

4. Self programming

If you write your own workouts it is likely you are making critical errors in your endurance workouts.

As we spoke about earlier doing more of the same is bad.
However doing more variety can be good.

But how exactly can you piece it all together?

Well unless it is your profession to write programming and coach people through it…
I would highly recommend finding an experienced coach.

Programming is super tricky.
It is an under appreciated art form in many ways.

Having written thousands of group and individual programs over the last 5 years I can say with absolute certainty that putting it altogether is no walk in the park.

5. Non-specific

If you are trying to go beyond a well rounded fitness aka GPP (General Physical Preparedness) you need to be more specific.

Whether you are trying to improve your marathon, CrossFit Open rank or triathlon times you need to dial in your training.

Rather than a more well-rounded approach to variety of movement, time zones and intensity you should now become more focused on improving singular aspects of your performance.

For example…

If you want to improve your marathon time by 12 seconds in your 26th race many factors must be considered.
Stride cadence, breaths per minute, heart rate zones and other extreme details must all be trained individually.

This will have a much greater effect on overall performance.

Another example…

A CrossFitter who wants to go from 51st to 30th in The Open must look at the main movements that will hold them back from qualifying.
If it is pulling endurance… specific hamstring, low back and glute training must be programmed to see the biggest benefits.

 

So...

Are you holding back your fitness with any of these errors?

It’s not too late.

Start with one simple change and stick to it for 2 weeks.
Your improvements will blow you away.

Want to take your fitness to the next level?

See how our coaches and program can help you regardless of where you are at.