It’s not just a buzz word and while it can sometimes look buzzy or complicated it is purposeful.
Functional exercises transcend into real life, they mimic everyday movement patterns to help you move better and prevent injury.
Example? Turning to pick something heavy up behind you. Either you will injure yourself or you won’t and often the difference is having built muscle to protect yourself and knowing how to move well.
Functional moves?
The keys are – Squat – Lunge – Hinge (deadlift or the likes) – Push (up) – Pull (up) – Twist (rotational movements)
You can get fancy and have fun with it as you progress.
Get around the basics of what works and why it’s important to prioritise.
Sleep and recovery is essential for:
Your muscles recovering through adequate protein synthesis and human growth hormone release
Appetite regulation. A lack of sleep increases ghrelin production (the hormone that makes you feel hunger)
Managing stress and the hormones that regulate your mood and motivation levels.
Enjoy 7-9 hours a night
Try some yoga/ mobility practice
Sauna and massage
Cold water recovery
Take rest days
Nutrition
80% of your results come down to what you eat:
Weight loss and seeing definition comes down to using more calories than you consume.Your muscles will not grow if they are getting insufficient protein, they will not recover if you are getting insufficient fats and carbs.
Weight loss and seeing definition comes down to using more calories than you consume.Your muscles will not grow if they are getting insufficient protein, they will not recover if you are getting insufficient fats and carbs.
Sugar, canola oil, emulsifiers and other horrendous additives will affect your ability to feel energised and perform your best work at training and in life in general.
Processed & ‘hyper palatable’ foods will undermine your ability to regulate your own appetite.
Stay hydrated
Get an understanding for how many calories you need Vs how many you consume
Find out the carbs/fat/protein levels that best suits your goals and needs
Read ingredient labels and practice self-love by giving your body what it needs to thrive and avoiding shit
Training Either you are stimulating the muscle or you are not.
Practice progressive overload: Whereby you gradually increase the weights, reps, frequency etc in your strength training routine.
Make your foundation the basics: Squat, push up, pull up, deadlift, lunge.
Throw in some High intensity interval training and sprints
Mobility and flexibility work will improve your performance, protect against injury and support longevity so you can keep hitting it when you’re 90.
Educate yourself on from and optimising your training
Set yourself up with a solid program that will get you where you want to be
Think about what is motivating you and find your why
Enjoy a bit of diversity but remember that the basics work.
Invest in some good coaching
Supplements
There is a lot of money to be made in this industry so keep your wits about you.
Where are you reading your info on sups? Is it from companies that sell protein etc? Look elsewhere PubMed and peer reviewed is best.
Take quality supplements. If your body can’t absorb it, there is no point. Some contain fillers and flow agents are these are to be avoided. Look for third-party tested and accredited.
Ultimately you should be trying to get everything you need from food so dial in a great and diverse diet first and go from there.
vitamin D
omega 3s (specifically EPA)
magnesium
zinc
fermented foods or probiotics
greens powder as well as a clean, digestible protein powder (if you really need it) are solid investments
These building blocks work synergistically to get you to your goals and each should get the attention they deserve to truely unleash your performance potential.
Yes, training, eating right and getting to bed on time takes discipline and isn’t always easy. Sometimes it can feel like sacrifice but maybe you need to redefine sacrifice.
I wouldn’t sacrifice unleashing my bodies potential or sacrifice my health for anything.
This doesn’t mean never missing a days training, never going out for wood fired pizza or leaving every party early.
It does mean: Being aware of what I put into my body and choosing only the best foods 80% of the time. Sticking to a well designed program with adequate rest days consistently. Having lush hot showers, sleepy tea and massaging myself with yummy smelling oils before settling in for 8 hours most nights.
🧗🏼♀️My journey started with focus on all the things I was going to cut out, on the weight I wanted to lose. ⠀ ⛰But the gains in energy, confidence and strength have been the ultimate pillars of my motivation. Day-day motivation may ebb and flow but these benefits are what draw me into keeping up this lifestyle and I don’t feel like there’s any going back now. ⠀ ❤️One of the best ever feelings is getting to see this shift in others. 🌟When improving performance takes over fitting into tight pants. 🌟When developing new skills takes spotlight from shedding weight. ⠀ ✨Honing skills and feeling yourself getting stronger and more energised is such a powerful and positive feedback loop into sleep, nutrition and recovery. It’s a way more sustainable mindset for getting you to where you want to be. 💪🥰See how you feel yourself when you vary your goals, think long term and enjoy the journey rather than being focused on any set destination. Notice the positive changes and fall in love with the process
If you haven’t yet found exercise you enjoy, if you’re doing the bare minimum you put into your my fitness pal to hopefully burn a few calories then you are not creating a lifestyle.
Some steps will definitely be harder than others…
but if you’re not enjoying any of them your fitness journey won’t take you very far. Loving physical activity and moving your body is such a game changer but this isn’t to say you can get where you want if you don’t apply a bit of discipline. This is to talk more about balance and to discuss a different perspective on priorities.
The way you think about exercise becomes part of a positive feedback loop into your diet. If you’re really enjoying the workouts, if you really bring mindfulness and start to think about how you can reach new heights with it then good nutrition choices and training choices will become that much more instinctive.
When you’re setting your goals make a special note on priorities.
– What are you trying to achieve? – Would you like to a see a broader, more developed back – Are you hoping to add some shape to your legs?
Maybe you’re thinking about those upcoming hikes and peaks you want to reach, enjoying the journey as well as the view. Have you seen an older family member struggle to get out from their chair and you think; I don’t want that to be me? Jot these down.
Flow your training schedule from there and try to keep things balanced.
For example: If your goals were all of the above then you’d be looking at: – incorporating a weightlifting routine that will build muscle. – Then you’d be looking at getting some cardio in. A HIIT Day and about three 20-minute cardio sessions could be sufficient. – To remain agile and mobile then having a good stretch routine to follow your workouts is enough and functional training could take you to the next level.
Play a bit of sport
You may have a crazy or inconsistent schedule not conducive social sport. Be creative, be a problem solver. Find ways around your schedule to get some social sport in. It will do wonders for your mental as well as physical health.
If you have kids, make time for kicking a ball around with them. Humans are social animals who evolved playing cooperative ‘sport’ daily. Hunting and gathering, running and other various forms of socialised activity. Getting into this behaviour is pure and natural stress relief and the resulting biological responses that manifest during and after are critical for many bodily processes such as regulating hormones, facilitating healthy sleep patterns and improving your immune response.
If you find yourself with an hour spare to meet a friend at the park for a bit of footy, leap at the opportunity like your ancestors would have leaped up a tree together for berries.
Discipline essentially comes down to asking yourself what you want more and finding methods to keep you tuned to that end game. Some powerful methods include: – Developing your mindset. -Optimising your environment to suit your goals. -Finding an orbit around positive and goals oriented people.
Discipline is also just something to practice so don’t be discouraged if you fall off the wagon. Keep practicing it with an eye to your long game and mind on your values.
Obsession can look like: -Avoiding social connections in the interest of trying to control too many variables. e.g. skipping family dinners for the sake of calorie counting. -Prioritising an exercise regime over sufficient sleep and recovery. If you only slept four hours that night be kind to yourself rather than hitting a hard sesh in the gym and wearing it like a badge of honour. -Judging others and their lifestyle choices; You do you and let others do them.
How to find that sweet spot? A few good practices include: – Mindfulness and regularly checking in with yourself maybe even keeping a journal. -Cultivating a rich life where you pursue a variety of interests and expose yourself to a variety of people and experiences. We all have something to learn from everyone and every experience can be an opportunity for growth. -Pursing health in a holistic way by investing in your mental health, nutrition and recovery as well as strengthing your body.
It is a thing, it can work for you. But like all things, it will take a bit of practice and a lot of learning to trust your body.
Making good food choices is critical as hyper palatable food (think things high in sugar, salt, trans fat) will drastically undermine your brains ability to process satiety signals. As does lack of sleep and chronic or prolonged stress.
Find what works for you and this includes working through binge eating triggers and what food helps you feel the most satisfied.
Building an awareness of caloric content of foods can help you lay a good foundation but mindful eating is surely the most sustainable method, mentally and physically
As a qualified nutritionist, hormone and gut health specialist I am well equipped to help you on your journey to developing sound internal appetite regulation.
Reach out via email: christina@saeyondhealth.com phone: 041 355 2904 or direct messaging on Instagram @saeyondhealth
Examples: – The goal is not to lose 10kgs. The goal is to be someone who chooses good portions of whole foods 80% of the time. – The goal is not to gain muscle. The goal is to be someone who consistently follows a muscle gain program and optimises their nutrition and sleep to support their gains. – The goal is not to learn Spanish. The goal is to set a time to practice language skills regularly.
Enjoy the process and find ways to incorporate healthy choices into your lifestyle This is done by finding the kind of exercise you enjoy and ways to enjoy the exercises that are good for you. Find yourself a gym buddy, a solid coach, a good group training studio or social sports team. Eating healthier can feel daunting at first but it starts with bringing awareness to how you are already feeding yourself. Taking a couple minutes a day to food diary what you are eating, how often and through what kind of window e.g 11am-7pm or 7am-10pm. Become your own detective so you can be equipped to make the changes that feel the easiest and will offer the most “bang for buck.” Once you have built that awareness of where you may be willing to action change, take some next steps, it helps to get your partner, friends or family involved. Go explore some fresh farmers markets, learn about where the food you are eating has come from. Google some local food delivery services that are health conscious if time is an issue for you. Getting lost in some fit-foodie youtube channels can be a rainy day well spent. Sleep is the most significant aspect of your health to improve which will transcend to all other aspects of energy, appetite regulation etc. Get yourself a cozy bedtime routine you look forward to more than you do the next episode on Netflix. Turn off the devices, enjoy a hot shower, exchange massages with your partner. Winding down and having a transition to sleep is critical for effective, good quality rest.
Make the practices enjoyable so you are more likely to do them, make them habits you can stick to. If you don’t enjoy these practices you will be up against an often overwhelming tide of finding excuses not to do them. It is far more sustainable to invest a bit more time into starting off small and building from there. If you know a habit that needs to go replace it with something that will offer that same dopamine hit you are accustomed to. There is no need to shock you system only to fall off the wagon and have to start again months from now.
Take Away Thoughts Fitness challenges etc are awesome for kickstarting you and equipping you with skills and knowledge. What do you do though, when you’ve finished up that 6 week challenge and shaved off that 5% of body fat? Don’t fall into that huge statistic of people who gain it all back. Establishing habits and focusing on the journey rather than the destination is the trick to keeping your results sustainable, to thriving through your long game.
Decisions and efforts are so much more reflexive when it comes from a place of love. Think about it. If you love what you do for work you will be more willing to rock up early, do the grit work and invest in your professional development. If you love your partner, it is so much easier to want to cook for them, listen to them and support their goals. It’s the same with your body. When you love your body the decisions to feed it the best quality, get it the movement it needs to thrive and flourish feel so much easier.
When you’re training… It should never ever be a punishment. It is the unleashing of your body’s potential. It is the nurturing of your cardiovascular, neuromuscular, and so many other systems within you. Find exercise you enjoy! Get your friends and family involved as workout buddies or meet at the beach for a game of footy. For a confidence booster; Invest in your education on technique and how to be effective with some solid coaching.
When you’re choosing what to feed yourself…
If you don’t like green juice, don’t force it down. There are so many tasty ways to get the nutrition you need for energy, recovery and longevity. Start by looking at nutrition labels and avoiding shit that sounds weird. If you don’t recognise some chemical substance mayhem on a label then chances are you won’t thrive on it. Try to practice mindful eating and using your hand as a portion guide.
For ideas on what’s good: – Follow some healthy foodies on the gram – Subscribe to youtubers who know what’s what – Crank Nana’s old recipe books
Key Take Aways
You will respond better to self-love than self-loathing. Prioritise the practice of mindfulness and self-love first as the foundation of your fitness journey.
There are so many options for moving your body, finding ones you love and look forward to is all part of the fun! Get amongst it.
Food is fuel for everything from movement to learning & exploring, laughing & love making. Love food. Find food that loves you back.
SaeYond Health 