What are the key areas we need to focus on in order to maintain health and fitness?

There are basically six elements I teach that are vital for health and fitness. My six part approach helps you gain health from the inside out, which is a far superior approach to just looking great on the outside and being run down on the inside.

All six elements are interconnected so any improvement it one area will benefit the other areas. I also find this approach works as an excellent diagnostic tool to direct focus to the areas that needs the most attention. Let’s look at the six elements in more detail:

Shaping: Choosing the most effective exercise forms and not wasting time with ineffective modes of exercises is the heart and soul of shaping. Too many trainees spend too much time investing in methods that produce inferior results or following the latest fitness
industry fads.

Sustenance: As with many things in life, the most important rule with any eating plan is that quality is more important than quantity. Choosing the correct foods is so much more important than how much you eat. This is not a new idea, there are Soviet studies dating back to the 60’s showing that the biodiversity of food consumed is more important than the caloric intake when it comes to losing body fat.

Sewage: Our gut and internal waste system play a vital role in promoting good health. Consider that around 85% of our immune system is located in the gut and you will see just how important our sewage system is for fighting illness as well as absorbing nutrients.

Supplements: There is so much confusion within the health industry about the role supplements should play. I like to view it this way; if good diet, lifestyle and exercise practices are the icecream sundae, consider the supplement you take as the cherry on top. Without doubt, certain supplements can enhance your wellbeing if taken correctly and consistently.

Supercompensation: This is about incorporating methods into our lifestyles that help us recover from stressors like work and physical training. Without adequate recovery from stressors, progress towards your health and fitness goals can stall or even grind to a halt.

Sychology: Yes, I know it is supposed to start with a ‘P’! Having the correct mindset and demolishing mental roadblocks are crucial to long term success. Having negative eating habits or a lack of confidence in your body are just two of the many ways your mindset can hinder your best laid health plans.

What is the biggest mistake(s) people make in relation to their health and wellbeing?

The answer to this is simple: People always compare themselves to others and this is the reason they fail. Weight issues, stress levels, workplace pressures and deadlines- these factors all have a huge bearing on a person’s outlook on life and make each person’s case unique, not comparable to everyone else’s.
As Tony Robbins once said, ‘most people’s lives are a direct reflection of the expectations of their peers groups.’ This is so true, just look at your own life and compare it to that of your peers. You will find many points of replication between the way they live and how you live your own life. Most of your peers will even be in the same income bracket as yourself give or take 15%.
I can’t change someone’s salary or their circle of friends, but I can change their outlook on life through improving energy levels, their health, their commitment to their employee and their lifestyle. Through the systems and performance diagnostics my studio employs we deliver to our clients and the results speak for themselves.

I was recently lucky enough to meet a strapping young lady by the name of Rosemary Shrager, one of the most flamboyant, happy, outgoing individuals you’re ever likely to meet! When I need to get in the ‘mood’ I turn to fitness but for Rosemary she has certain ‘mood foods’ she eats!

Here are 5 foods to get you in the mood!

1. Oats

Oat may help if you find yourself feeling irritable and cranky. It is rich in soluble fibre, which helps to smooth out blood sugar levels by slowing the absorption of sugar into the blood.

Oats are a great food to help you stick with your diet plan, because the soluble fibre in oats forms a gel that slows the emptying of your stomach so you don’t feel hungry quickly.

Other foods high in soluble fibre are: beans, peas, barley, citrus fruits, strawberries and apples.

2. Walnuts

Walnuts have long been thought of as a “brain food” because of their wrinkled, bi-lobed (brain like) appearance. But now we know that walnuts are an excellent source of omega-3 essential fatty acids, a type of fat that’s needed for brain cells and mood-lifting neurotransmitters to function properly and possible help some people with depression.

Other foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids include salmon, sardines, flaxseeds, and omega-3 fortified eggs.

3. Tea

Although caffeine has been shown to lead to a more positive mood and improved performance but you need to be careful!

Too much caffeine can make you unsettled/ nervous, irritable, hypersensitive or bring on headaches.

4. Salmon and the Sun

In recent times, research has suggested that vitamin D may increase the levels of serotonin, one of the key neurotransmitters influencing our mood.

We can get vitamin D through exposure to sunlight (unless you live in Melbourne) and in lesser amounts, through food such as salmon.

5. Lentils

Lentils are an excellent source of folate and vitamin B which appears to be essential for mood and proper nerve function in the brain.

Low levels of folate have been linked to depression. A Harvard study showed that 38 percent of depressed women are deficient in folate.

Recent talk suggestions a folate deficiency appears to impair the metabolism of serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenalin, neurotransmitters important for mood.

A cup of cooked lentils provides 90% of the recommended daily allowance of folic acid. A healthy bonus: lentils contain protein and fibre, which are filling and help to stabilize blood sugar.

Other sources of folate include: fortified breakfast cereals, green vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, liver, and beans.

It’s everywhere, magazines, the supermarket, the 6pm news, the radio. Everywhere you go there is talk of being healthier and fitter! So why is our country, along with powerful nations such as the UK and USA battling so badly with this epidemic? Here are 6 reasons why:

You’ve reached a healthy balance:

It may be that your body has reached its “perfect” weight. Reaching this level is generally pretty easy but it won’t get you to ‘ultimate’ body your after. Women, more so than man, tend to achieve a healthier balance at higher body fat levels. Breaking through these plateaus can be hard enough, but plateaus set by the body itself can be even harder. To dip below your ‘healthy’ bodyfat percentage can affect your hormones and most importantly your fertility rate.

You lack the willpower.

All these healthy habits depend on how badly you want it! If you don’t want it enough you’re not going to get it! Everyone has a different inspiration or motivation that can help at those times that lack willpower. If you normally have willpower but are struggling at the moment, take note, it might actually be an indicator of your body’s needs to recover! In these cases overtraining is a bigger issue than lack of will to train.

You’re full of excuses:

Everyone has them at some stage… Some people have them every day and others have them every hour. If your find yourself have mini arguments with yourself and start lying to yourself about what you are eating and doing you’re probably full of excuses.

You’re not getting enough sleep:

Low levels of sleep can cause the release of cortisol, the old fat-storing hormone. The biggest spike in (fat-burning, anabolic) growth hormone plasma levels happens when you’re at rest sleeping! Studies have shown that interrupted sleep patterns are linked to weight gain. Get seven to eight hours of sleep a night.

You’re under too much stress:

The stress response system responds to stimuli and nothing else. Emotional stress, physical stress, financial stress, relationship stress – your body does not differentiate between sources of stress. They all cause the body to produce cortisol, the stress hormone which leads to break down of  muscle, alters insulin resistance, and promotes the storage of fat. Today, our body responds to the constant ringing of the phone, the flood of emails, the stress caused by those you work with and all stresses that come with living in the 21st century. Take a step back from your life and take stock of your stress levels – they may be holding you back.

You think you’re eating healthy, but aren’t:

Do you spend time down the aisles at the supermarket rather than around the perimeter? Low-carb or not, you want to eat real food. Eating the packaged and processed food you’re just feeding an addiction and consuming empty calories – sound familiar? Disregard the labels and look inside for what you know to be true: this crap isn’t food, and you shouldn’t be eating it. It’s about way more than just low-carb.

For those in Australia the summer days are just about over for another 6 months and it’s likely you’ll replace those balmy days in the sun with more time indoors which COULD potentially lead to more time spent in bed. There is nothing quite like staying under the cosy doona for an extra hour on a lazy Saturday or Sunday.

More time in bed SHOULD mean more of the ‘adult cuddles’ but for most people, both men and women, there is less of that tiger (woods) in you now than ever before. Are you asking yourself why?
Is it the kids? Stress? Lack of time? You’re lucky if you even have time to look for a fresh pair of socks these days let alone have some quality time under the sheets, and when you do all you want to do is sleep! What has the world come to!

I recently had a friend talk about the extreme sex drive she is currently experiencing and a lack of sex drive her husband has. What’s behind this lack of sex drive? Why is Viagra one of the leading drugs in the world? Here are all the answers you need to get that sex drive from first gear to fifth!

1. You’re running around like a headless chook: You spend all your day working, cooking, cleaning, looking after everyone else and by 11:30 you are so exhausted you collapse in a heap. The chronic stresses of modern life can trigger a surge of hormonal changes that mess with your body’s sexual-response cycle and leaving you feeling like you would rather stare at the wall than have sex. How about a small mini holiday? It can be as simple as three days.  “People are overworked and stressed, and they translate their overworked, stressed lives to a lousy sex life’, suggests Irwin Goldstein, MD, director of San Diego Sexual Medicine.
2. You’re not HAPPY JAN!: Many find themselves withdrawing or not willing to experiment because they feel overweight or their bodies have changed shape.  Studies have shown that as little as a 3 kilo loss in weight can jump start the sex drive and have you feeling much better about the way you look!
3. Those silly meds you’re taking!!!!: When you’re feeling down your desire for sex can take a big hit, particularly if you’re female. Antidepressants may lift your spirits temporarily, but some affect your interest in sex long term. If you notice your sex drive has taken a drive since you started new meds, speak to your doctor!
4. You’re sick as a dog!: A number of women who are treated for low libido end up having an endocrine problem, such as undiagnosed thyroid disease, which can lead to exhaustion, depression, low sexual desire, and fertility problems. Check with your doctor to see if your thyroid is working correctly and whether you are suffering from any other chronic diseases that may affect your sex drive.
5. Maximise your exercise!: If you want to be “interested” then improve your circulation. Exercise can increase blood flow, which in theory can make sex more enjoyable as the arousal for both men and women involves increased blood flow to the genital area.Exercise boosts endorphins, which makes you happier and increases your energy. Not to mention that dropping body fat makes you feel sexier.
6. Eat a healthy diet: Too much fat in the system doesn’t allow much blood supply to the areas of importance. This is one of the reasons why there is a correlation between heart disease and erectile dysfunction.Excess weight also messes with your hormones. “Obesity can shift the balance between estrogen and testosterone,” says Michael Krychman, MD, executive director of the Southern California Center for Sexual Health and Survivorship Medicine. And low testosterone can bring down your sex drive. For example, an iron deficiency can lead to fatigue, which in turn can lead to low libido. (Eat your broccoli!)

Imagine that your body is a house and your feet are the foundation. Without a stable, correct foundation your walls, floor and ceiling are simply not stable. The human body is the finest piece of engineering that you will find, and it needs to be treated so. If you’re experiencing pain which may be due to feet that are overpronating, then take responsibility of the platform of your most valuable commodity, otherwise your kinetic chain (walls, floor and ceiling), will not perform their desired duties.

Your kinetic chain is made up of your bones, skeletal muscle, fascia, joints, ligaments and tendons so when one part of your kinetic chain fails biomechanically, it will adversely affect another section. The role of the foot in correct biomechanics lies around pronation. Pronation is the desired motion which occurs when the foot makes impact and your arch collapses enough to cause your foot to roll toward the mid line of your body and allowing that initial shock to disperse from the body. Overpronation, or rolling in, occurs when your arches simply collapse too much causing your feet to fall away from a neutral position, and roll too far inwards.

Overpronation affects your kinetic chain because the arch of your foot is weak and it acts on your ankle joint, forcing it to roll in. Your ankle joint then too rolls in and soon your tibia (shin bone), knee and your femur (thigh bone) have followed the same fate, putting extra pressure on your hips and lower back. Looking further at your kinetic chain, as your joints are pulled out of alignment, other muscles are required to over stabilize, this places extra pressure on your tendons as your muscles insert into your bones via these.

The problem can rear its head in many ways. Incorrect posture may cause pain at the ankles, knees, hips or even in the arch of the foot while your body is requiring extra energy to stabilize incorrectly waisting time and inhibiting efficiency in your running goals.

To determine whether your may be an overpronater, try an exercise that Justin Price cites in his article Corrective Exercise – Part 1: The foot, ankle and knee. Find the two indentations at the front of your foot, where it joins to your lower leg. Ask a friend to place their thumb on the dimple at the inside of the ankle, and their index finger on the outside dimple. If you roll your foot and ankle inward (overpronate), your friend will feel pressure on their thumb and if you roll your foot outward (oversupinate), your friend will feel pressure on their forefinger. Relax your foot, and if there is more pressure on your friends thumb than there is on his or her index finger, then your foot may be overpronating. In this case, you should seek advice, or a gait test from a physiotherapist, as you may be causing damage to the rest of your body or worse still, selling yourself short on the track or the street.

It’s not every day that you get to spend time with one of the world’s most outgoing, inspirational people but late last year I trained one of the biggest characters I’ve ever met. Ruby Gettinger was ‘down under’ for the first time promoting her book, TV show ‘Ruby’ and filming of the Australia episode ‘Ruby: My Australian Adventure’.

While here her incredible spirit saw her tackle, bump, push, climb and overcome every challenge I threw at her!
Both Ruby and her best friend Georgia were here for a week and embraced everything Australia had to offer including the boxing, power walks around the city, Macquarie’s chair and Bondi, an action packed sail around the Sydney harbour, and the infamous harbour bridge climb!

What surprised me most about Ruby was her flamboyant nature and ability to overcome the extraordinary challenges that she has faced throughout this journey. It’s the inspiration so many out there need. This type of loud, proud and strong personality has made her so appealing to the viewers and is the reason why everyone falls in love with her. It also highlights the weaknesses of many around her.

While I only spent a week with Ruby I found myself challenging what was the right thing to do by her and what was the right thing to do by her health.

Confused? No doubt. Let me explain. Having watched the show and done the research on Ruby before she came to Australia I found myself frustrated by some of her friends. They were being too good to Ruby and allowing her to eat the foods that got her to a staggering 320 kilos! The dilemma is if her friends allow her to eat ‘those foods’ that will keep her happy, avoid confrontation and make the ‘goal weight’ harder to achieve. They need to be firm with Ruby and prevent her from eating these foods, as it will cause confrontation but it’s the ‘tough love’ she needs.

There were testing times within our week together where I too felt I could have easily become one of ‘those’ friends. I would have been kicking myself if I fell for her loveable, flamboyant flirty behavior and allowed her to eat the foods that she’s craved since starting her journey back from 320 kilos.

It’s important that her friends find the ‘tough love’ and ensure this epic journey stays on track.

It’s the ultimatum you face as a trainer, friend, family member, partner or college. You can do the right thing by them and allow those lifestyle habits to continue, or you can do the right thing for their health, save their life and show ‘tough love’.

We all know someone that is facing a challenge, whether it is obesity, a problem with the drink, or another kind other addictions. You’re not helping them by making excuses for them. Show the ‘tough love’, they will hate it initially but once they have overcome the problem you’ll be the one they turn to and say ‘thankyou’.

1. Clean the machine: A large percentage of obese people will have a clogged up digestive system so toxic they are a danger! Your body is like a car, if you put the wrong petrol in it won’t run smoothly… It’s fair to say if you’re obese, you have put a large number of toxins into your body. Start cleaning the machine (your body) and detox it by minimising processed foods. A large percentage of people overcome weight loss plateaus by eating ‘clean’ foods. You will start losing weight straight away without even exercising by simply making these changes.
2. Stress less!:  Our bodies are stressed out to the max! What makes this worse is that our body doesn’t differentiate the types of stress. Whether it is from a lack of exercise, toxic foods you’re eating, work and relationships stress or daily chemicals that you’re exposed to, all of these are placing stress on a vulnerable body and making it harder to lose weight.
3. Positive people= positive results: Have a look at your surroundings. It’s said that you’re the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Are those people helping or hindering your ability to get fit and healthy? Do you need to make some changes?
4. Walk before you talk: You hear it all the time. ‘I’m going to start running every morning and lose 60 kilos’ DANGER, DANGER, DANGER…. Anyone that wants to start running needs to be conditioned! It’s like building a house, if you haven’t built a foundation the roof is going to cave in! If you’re obese you shouldn’t even consider running. Walking, swimming, boxing and cycling are perfect exercises to start conditioning the body. Once your body is conditioned and strong you can then include running.
5. Lack of impact: When you’re completely de conditioned the last thing you want to do is put more stress on the knees, ankles, hips and back! These areas are under extreme stress for obese people and without care you’re likely to cause major impact. Major impact = injury!  You need to have a strong pillar from your shoulders to your hips to minimize any injuries and setbacks.  The last thing you want is a set back as this is often a huge factor in obese people giving up on reaching their goals.

Perhaps it’s not your knee at all

As the season of fun runs draws near, many of us will begin running programs that result in knee pain. Whether you’re hoping to complete Sydney’s City to Surf, or to run a personal best time in a marathon, it is important to understand the possible origin of your knee pain as it may have nothing to do with your knee at all.

The pain that this article refers to is that which you get in the front of your knee joint (patella). You may recognise this as patella femoral dysfunction, patella tendonitis or patella chondromalacia just to name a few. However, the activity that is occurring at your patella is often just a symptom of the real problem that lies elsewhere.

It is no secret that the knee is located in between your shin bone (tibia) and your upper thigh bone (femur). The tibia is greatly affected by the ankle joint, while the femur is greatly affected by the hip joint, meaning that any instability at either joint will affect your knee.

The more common instabilities include weak arches, or flat feet that act on your ankle joint, and weak gluteal muscles at your hips. As the arch in your foot collapses due to this weakness, it causes your foot and ankle to roll in or over pronate. Following this inward rotation, your tibia then proceeds to rotate towards the centre of your body, creating incorrect alignment at your knee.

Knee problems caused by lack of activation from your gluteal muscles revolve around weak gluteus medius. Gluteus medius is the muscle that acts to keep your femur from rotating inwards (much the same as the ankle and tibia due to flat feet). Gluteus medius has the job of ensuring that your knee travels in a straight line while you run, minimising harm on the rest of your body and being much more energy efficient through a long run. Inactive gluteus medius means that your knee joint will rotate inwards. Combine this with your weak arches, as most of us do, and you will find that your tibia, patella and femur are all rotating towards the middle of your body. It is the way in which your body attempts to compensate for this that may be causing your knee pain.

So how does the body do this? Enter the Iliotibial Band (ITB)! Your ITB begins at your hip, runs down the outside of your upper leg and inserts at the front of your knee (where you’re feeling that pain). The result of your incorrect biomechanics is that your ITB has been forced to become overactive in its attempt to minimise the angle between your hip and knee. The excessive load on your knee is mirrored by the strain in your ITB as it pulls your knee cap in the direction away from the middle of your body to correct the instabilities at your ankle and hips.

To correct these, you will need to strengthen your arches, or even seek professional advice on footwear that can assist your body with such dysfunctions. Your ITB will need to increase its flexibility while you improve the strength and efficiency of your gluteus medius muscles. Try single leg exercises like lunges, and perform them while ensuring that your knee travels in the direction of your second toe. The benefits of correcting these will not only decrease your knee pain, but these issues can also instigate back pain, and will definitely be inhibiting your running times and ability. An efficient body means efficiency in performance, lifestyle and achieving your goals!

Hi Blake,

I’m under the impression that I have Crohns disease and was wondering if you had some more information on this issue? I am having a really hard time. I am doing heaps of research on the topic and was just wondering if you had any good information I could get hold?

Thankyou
Carleana A

Hi Carleana,

By Blake Worrall-Thompson

First we need to know exactly what Crohn’s disease is. Wikipedia states that Crohn’s is: an inflammatory disease of the intestines that may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract from mouth to anus, causing a wide variety of symptoms. It primarily causes abdominal pain, diarrhea (which may be bloody), vomiting, or weight loss, but may also cause complications outside of the gastrointestinal tract such as skin rashes, arthritis, inflammation of the eye, tiredness, and lack of concentration.

Crohn’s disease is an autoimmune disease, in which the body’s immune system attacks the gastrointestinal tract, causing inflammation; it is classified as a type of inflammatory bowel disease. There has been evidence of a genetic link to Crohn’s disease, putting individuals with siblings afflicted with the disease at higher risk. It is understood to have a large environmental component as evidenced by the higher number of cases in western industrialized nations. Males and females are equally affected. Smokers are three times more likely to develop Crohn’s disease.

For Carleana to fight off Crohn’s there are 4 principle rules that need to be followed:

Unfortunately this isn’t a quick process, so take your time and do it properly!

Good luck!

As we come out of summer, our training motives may shift slightly from aesthetic towards those of health and vitality. Through winter, it is a good idea to begin preparing for your summer fun by combating the very effects that modern civilization is having on your energy levels. Modern civilization, in all of its glory, has had a detrimental effect on our posture, and is therefore having a big impact on our energy levels. The lynch pin of posture is, of course, the spine, and your lack of energy at the end of each day may be directly related to how well your body can stabilize this hub of movement.

Correct posture can be understood as a balance between strength and flexibility of both large and small muscles, which limit the stress placed on our joints and allow optimal efficiency from our body as a whole, resulting in minimal energy expenditure for any required movement.

Unfortunately, the posture of your spine is constantly affected by outside stressors, such as hunching at your computer, limited physical activity and incorrect recruitment of our muscles to perform any given task. The body’s will to compensate leads us to the internal tug of war between opposite muscles that we know as incorrect spinal alignment, or poor posture.

This attempt from the skeletal system to correct itself, contributes to faulty movement patterns at your limbs, and simple movements are usually performed by a much bigger muscle than is required, increasing the risk of injury and draining the body of more energy than it should. Such compensatory mechanisms within the body are known as energy leaks.

The deep muscles of your trunk and core are known as your inner unit. They are responsible for making the spine rigid enough to provide your outer unit (the muscles that generate large movements) with an energy efficient, strong platform.

The inner unit is made up of transverse abdominis (TVA), a belt like muscle that should anticipate movement and act like a corset to add rigidity to your spine and allow maximum strength from your limbs; your diaphragm, which should drop down to the top of TVA as you breathe and your pelvic floor that should engage from underneath your pelvis at the bottom of TVA. All three should come together to provide a solid cylinder that stabilizes your torso and spine. Supplementary to these is multifidus, a muscle that sits within the cylinder, and attaches to the spine to hold your vertebrae in their best position for function.

If you want your body to perform, it is essential that your inner core activates efficiently, as it is much less taxing for these small muscles to stabilize your spine, rather than requiring much bigger energy sapping muscles to over power it and take away from your base of movement. A strong spine, in combination with good posture is a true natural remedy to beating ‘three-thirty-itis’, and it will provide you with more gusto to perform well both at work and in the gym!