I rounded the corner of the building and there was the scene.

A little boy with mixed emotions in his eyes. A breadstick on the ground and a mother with set jaw and anger on her face. After walking past I heard her say firmly,” I am very angry.” Well duh, you didnt need to say it luv!

He knew it when he accidentally held the plastic sleeve the wrong way and the bread dropped onto the ground. My heart went out to the poor kid as it was obvious it had been a mistake and couldn’t she have said,” What a pity that dropped,  Never mind, I know it was a mistake.”

 What happened before the event, I don’t know. I am sure the Mum may have had a challenging morning and it might have been the last straw. Is it in perspective for a 4 year old kid though? They just see a bread-stick dropping on the ground and think, “That is worth getting very angry about!?”

Do you see how we can transfer importance on to others through our own frustrations.

I love these life lessons because I too have been there but I was probably taking my ‘venting’ out on an adult.

Write in the comment section and tell me a story of frustrations in your day that you observed or mishandled.

Cheers Tim James

It is not the big decisions we make that cause the greatest change but actually the 50 or more small decisions that affect us long term.

If I decide between skipping breakfast (error in judgement) or making time to have some eggs or museli and yoghurt (daily discipline ).

If I decide to watch that evening sitcom or walk the dog

If I decide to call a friend to encourage them to workout with me or catchup to go shopping

If I decide to have the cheesecake or opt for a piece of fruit and some raw nuts

If I decide to spend 30 minutes on the treadmill @ low intensity or spend 8 lots of high intensity sprints.

If I decide to put aside $20 for a rainy day or spend it on that “special”

If I decide to pack my lunch the night before or buy takeaway from the noodle shop

If I spend 15 minutes reading a nutrition book or delve into a romance/drama novel

If I reply to that unanswered email or surf the net

If I add vegies to my meal or opt for that microwave meal

If I take my multivitamin and mineral supplement as preventative or take a pharmaceutical for my symptomatic cold

If I choose a top quality omega 3 supplement or have a mercury contaminated fish fillet

None of these choices are necessarily bad or good but they add up over time to an outcome.

Battling Ropes – This method has been around a long time in the military but is becoming more popular in fitness training methods like “Crossfit”. There are so many varieties but it is a killer upper body and cardiovascular workout all in one.

Sledge Hammer and Tyres Another brilliant use of cheap equipment to develop upper body strength and also lower body if prescribed correctly. One word of advice is clean your tyres with soap and brush or use gloves as they get you pretty dirty. Double hand, single hand or alternating are some different grips for the sledge. Tyres can be dragged, flipped, hit, rolled etc….

Kettlebells- My favourite- If you come to my Wednesday morning fitcamp sessions you can find out more but ever since my instructor course with Australian Kettlebells I have really enjoyed learning how these teach me to improve my technique.

Bodyweight- What I love about bodyweight is how much we dont utilize what we have for free. Learning handstands and one legged squats and pullups is just the beginning. Just take a look at what people in modern dance comps are doing with gymnastics or go and see a Cirque- circus and you will be WOWED and inspired.

Cars- Sounds strange but all you need is an empty car park and 3 people to push and one to steer. This is a great finisher and really drains the legs. A little tap on the brakes can make it really evil )

I hope you enjoyed this and let me know what else you would like me to write about!

Cheers Tim

What is your mind set on through all this?

 I hope it is your goals! If life needs to be constant in order for you to keep your mind on your goal then nobody would achieve anything. It is the ability to get back on the “bike” and keep cycling that makes the difference.

Here are a few pointers to what keeps me motivated.

Surround yourself with like minded people who also want to achieve similar goals. When you have a low day and you confer with them they can remind you why you are doing this and likewise you can encourage them.

Be crystal clear about what your goal is and refine it if you are not clear. The clearer the goal the easier it is to reach out and achieve it. Build a vision board that has pictures of things or emotions that you would feel when you reached your goal.

Work on daily affirmations. Look in the mirror and tell yourself the goal but in the present tense. eg. I am … and it is May 31, 2010. You will not only be focusing on your own success but your mind cannot dwell on negatives while you are doing this. The effect will be you reprogramming your subconcious which is what controls your actions.

When you are feeling swamped with challenging stuff sit down and make a list of five things in your day that you are currently grateful for. It will help you to see that it is not all that bad and “this too shall pass”.

Maybe you have had an experience that got you out of the slump. Please leave your comments below. I always love reading them.

Cheers Coach Tim James

I am always sick-

To different degrees this can be quite valid but unless you are actually bed ridden- if you can go to work then you can work out. There are so many forms of exercise that will enhance your immune system. Find out what you can do not what you can’t do. Glass half full people!!

I can’t afford it!

Ok so what is in your budget?  There are many affordable options for personal training these days starting as low as $13. It may be true that you are in a hole right now but what can you afford?

To get sick and pay for the Doctors because your immune system is low?

 By the way, movement is the only way to stimulate your lymphatic systems detox. The lymph system carries your junk out of the body.

I dont have enough time-

The great thing about this excuse is you only need 15 minutes per day of intense workouts. Once you commit to that you will find more time.

I dont know what exercises to do to lose weight.

Great that is not an excuse but an objection. Find your local pt (Tim James and join the weight loss revolution. If Terry Ahern has gone from XXL to Medium you can too. Congratulations Terry!

I find exercise boring-

Well guess what? I would too with that attitude! Have you played with kids or watched them play? Do you notice how creative they can be? If you dont have your own, play with niece or nephews or a friend’s kids. Push them on the swing then run 1 lap of the swings and push them again. The kid will think its fairdinkum and you will get a workout all the while laughing. Hey, just one example!

What excuse have you heard? I’d love to hear them!

Cheers

Tim James

Almost in slow motion I saw a sedan bump into a stopped four wheel drive and like lightning a very angry man jumped out the passenger door screaming to the drivers of the sedan (in this case two early twenties females) to get out of their car. They looked very scared and pulled their car over but didn’t get out. (I would have locked my door seeing the state this guy was in) I did not notice any damage occur from this incident but you would have thought the guy was in a Rolls Royce. He screamed to his wife (the driver) to call the cops and that is when the lights changed and I had to move on.

Luke asked me, “Daddy why was that man so angry?” I said some people get angry at little things because they are always angry under the surface. I am  not sure if Luke fully understood me but it made me reflect on how to apply this as a valuable lesson.

1. An incident occured that was unexpected.

2. The people involved were ready to accept their responsibility.

3. There were witnesses who saw the whole event.

4. Any damage that occurred was minimal.

Have you been in a situation where these four points have applied to you?

How did you respond to the unexpected event?

Who was watching you?

Were you willing to accept that accidents can happen or were you willing to own your responsibilty?

In the big scheme was your event one that was really not a big deal?

We can get so worked up about stuff that really doesnt matter. The bloke I observed may have had years of anger issues. He may have even been arguing with family before he felt a rude bump to his rear end. I hope that this story can cause you to reflect on how you control your emotional stuff.

Enjoy life and take a chill pill!

Cheers Tim James

Community, Hard Work, Structure, Consistency, Recovery, Nutrition, Technique! There are many more but we will break these down and talk about how to achieve your goals whatever they are.

Community- a group of two or more people with a common purpose. In this context it is to encourage each other to stay focused on the common goal of improving fitness for whatever reason. Research shows that this is probably the MOST imortant principle of training. So if you haven’t got a training partner- join a small group, boot-camp, class or any environment that is led by a professional.

Hard work- the term ‘working out’ refers to a key. It is WORK. Not riding a bike at the gym while reading a book or talking for 5 minutes in between sets to an attractive person. It isnt a plateau. Every session you should do something you have never done before. A couple more reps, a variation that is a little more challenging, one drop set, the list goes on. Don’t settle for indifferent.

Structure- If you have a gym membership which the majority of the populace do, what do you do when you get there if you are not attending a class?

How do you know what to do with the cardio equipment or the weights?

Do you decide what to do as you walk through the gym?

Structure means knowing all those things and knowing how long your workout should take down to the rest periods and the stretching, the weights used and the reps to aim for. Without structure you are fumbling in the dark looking for the door!

Consistency- It is great to start a program and fire along for 2 weeks then you have a massive party on Sunday night and drink too much waking up with a hangover on Monday. Hmm! You just began the fatal mistake. “I feel too wrotten” you say to yourself. Or you come back from holidays and take a week longer to return. You get a cold and don’t exercise in case you dont recover.

Did you know that mild exercise can help boost your immunity when you are not well? The key is stick at it and dont allow smaller obstacles like parties, holidays, colds, any excuse to suade you from your task of adhering to your goal.

That is all for today! Soak it in and tell me what you think…

Tim James CPT AKI

I could feel the cool breeze from the airconditioning but my palms were sweaty. I had slept ok but I was trying to divert my attention from what was about to take place. All my life I had thought, “I want to do that one day” and now that day had come to confront me.

We arrived at the destination and after filling  out various legal forms we were kitted up  and then hopped in the “taxi” off to the airport. After climbing in we taxi’d down the runway and began the ascent to our ceiling of 14,000 ft. By now you may have guessed my fear.

As we arrived at altitude, I was taking in the magnificent views as the earth grew smaller.

 The instructor said, “Move closer and sit on my knees. When the door opens I want you to place your feet next to mine then cross your arms.” 

As the wind was rushing by, I did as he said and swallowing my fear crossed my arms. Next second I was falling towards earth at a rate of app. 250+ km per hour.

The irony is what I expected (a butterfly stomach and g forces) was not there at all. I was floating in a landscape of clouds, fields, sea and mountains. It was the closest thing to flying I have ever felt and it lasted for 60 seconds before the rude shock of the chute opening brought me back to reality.

I learnt some major significant lessons through this experience. For years I have held myself back emotionally by not being able to let go of a prior negative relationship and I let it go as I jumped out that door. What a relief!

I also learnt that whatever I am afraid of, if I just grab my feet and jump the reality will NEVER be like my fear. Fear crippled me for too long and it doesnt have to any more!

What are you so afraid of that you are crippled and unable to move forward? I would love to hear your story. Please write in the comments below.

Tim James

How can I get to where I want to be? Your goal may be to lose your stomach that has grown bigger over the years. It might be strength related (to handstand for 1 minute). It may be to get to financial freedom or to help more people achieve their goals than you have previously. Your goals are so varied I could not list them all.

I recently heard a fantastic speaker list his 6 point plan to success!

1.Optimism – A reason to believe our future can be positive. If I have a mind set that I am going to experience positivity then I will attract that to me. The same can be said of negativity. What are you focused on?

2. Influence – The ability to and the belief I can influence my future. If I believe I can then I can. If I believe I can’t then I can’t. It is ALL about belief.

3. Purpose – Know what we want and why we want it! If you dont know then start to meditate on what it is you want and then answer the BIG question, Why do I want that?

4. Plan – This is simply “some idea” of how I can make my plan happen. If I dont plan I will have no direction. If there is a system that someone else has developed that can get me to my goal then that will be my plan.

5. Support – A positive and encouraging emotional environment. There are people who will be unhappy to see you succeed at your goals. Surround yourself with likeminded people and avoid the ones who try to pull you down. They are not part of your journey.

6. Adversity – The biggest killer of creativity. It is part of life so if I have allready a contingency plan then I will just keep my eye on my goal.

My path may detour but I will still move forward.

Here are a few of my favourite recent quotes.

If I cant then I must.

I only fear what I do not understand.

If I dont stand for something then I will fall for everything.

No-one can make me feel inferior without my consent.

Tim James CPT Kettlebell Instructor

2. Food choices should contain a large nutrient-to-calorie ratio. Dr. Phil calls this, “High-Response Cost, High-Yield Nutrition”. Some examples of this approach include, eating a piece of whole fruit instead of drinking fruit-flavoured beverages, eating green vegetables instead of potatoes, and snacking on nuts instead of chips.

3. Nutrition experts recommend eating 6 small meals each day rather than 2-3 large meals. A well-planned schedule will help you achieve this goal. Eat soon after waking up, and then every 3-4 hours thereafter until you go to bed.

4. A sample 6-meal plan would include breakfast, a small morning snack, lunch, a small afternoon snack, a sensible dinner, and a small evening snack. Smaller, more frequent meals help you use all nutrients better, retain more vitamins, and control your blood sugar levels. Controlling your blood sugar is a key to avoiding hunger and fatigue.

5. Avoid overeating or combining sugar and fat within a meal. One easy way to improve your health and lose fat is to stop eating “fast food” and stop drinking soda pop. It’s also extremely important to control portion sizes, especially when eating out.

6. When eating at a restaurant, avoid excess sugar, fat, or oversized meals. Restaurant meals are often too large to eat in one sitting and contain more than enough food for one person. It’s important that you recognise the pitfalls of eating out. Stick with the foods recommended by nutritionists as often as you can: healthy, high-fibre and low-sugar whole foods such as lean protein, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and whole grains.

7. Nutrition experts recommend avoiding “processed carbohydrates” (typically, this includes carbohydrates from a bag or a box). Processed carbohydrates generally provide too many calories and too much sugar. Processed carbohydrates rapidly increase and decrease blood sugar, often resulting in hunger and fatigue.

Let me know what your tips are for healthy eating below!

Tim James CPT

For more tips check out TurbulenceTraining.com