YOKED Personal Training

21/11/2023

EFFORT IS NEVER WASTED

One of the things we will learn quickly on any sort of path towards personal development is that - and this is a loose paraphrase - the doing of the thing is the point, in and of itself, and what happens beyond that is irrelevant.

Personally, I find that it's best communicated (albeit in a significant more spiritual sense) by the Bhagavad Gita:

"BG 2.47: You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, nor be attached to inaction. "

Framing the way in which we engage with our world in this way, seeking to find fulfillment in the doing over the result, not being attached to the results, and acting towards them regardless, is tremendously empowering.

Psychologically, there's a mountain of processes, anxieties and complexes that leave us so hung up on how things turn out, that we're often stopping ourselves from enjoying the actual action leading to that result.

In the worst case, we might even be so afraid of the result not being what we desire that we don't even take any action to begin with, losing both the doing and the outcome.

It's not easy to move our focus to the actions themselves, rather than their results. It's a tremendous effort, actually - but it comes with time, practice, and reminding ourselves "I am doing this for the sake of it alone."

In a sense, that's what true freedom is.

It's a vital lesson to take in.

Need vital lessons delivered directly to your doorstep?
Get YOKED.

Check out our website for more information:
getyoked.com.au

16/11/2023

No, your metabolism hasn't slowed down.

Up until the age of about 60 or so, for the majority of people, your "metabolism" (the amount of energy your body consumes at rest every day, also known as "basal metabolic rate") doesn't really change.

What does change is our lifestyle. Generally, we become less active, learn how to drive, move into office work or less physical roles, divest from physical sports, spend less time active around the house, and so on. We also might start eating more, or prefer more energy dense foods, increase our alcohol consumption, and enjoy more office pizza parties. All of these little things add up - over years, it leads to (sometimes significant) weight gain.

But that's not because our metabolism changes, it's because we tend to eat more and move less as we get older, as we become further entrenched in the highly obesogenic environment of the 21st century.

It's not accurate to blame metabolism, and regardless not helpful to blame metabolism, because we can't do much about metabolism. If you want results - weight loss, body recomposition - it's the wrong thing to focus on. Any strategy or product claiming to "boost your metabolism" is probably a misnomer, or flat out lies at worst.

Keep that in mind.

Lifestyle change.

08/11/2023

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

As a basic definition, a "yoke" is a wooden frame placed around the neck and may be used to join oxen or other animals together in farming.

In the fitness industry, the first association one might draw with the word "yoked" is "strong". In terms of physique, being "yoked" refers to having large, well-developed muscles - particularly the trapezisus and neck muscles, which may come to resemble a yoke for bodybuilders or strength-focused athletes. The term "yoked" also holds some reference to the strength of these animals, as in the popular idiom "as strong as an ox". "Yoked" is not an uncommon term and to be considered "yoked" is a high compliment - there's even a few others in the fitness industry who have decided it an appropriate choice for their own business endeavors, too.

But there's more to it. Looking a bit further, and a bit deeper, the word "yoke" points towards connection. This is the idea behind Yoga - not the modern Western conception, but classical Yoga, which is the philosophy and practice of seeking union with a deeper Truth to reality - and the word "Yoga" points also to "yoke". This is what people are often seeking in personal training, too. Hiring a personal trainer is a step towards a fitter, healthier, better life, and this is made possible through the Truth of their method. In this sense, "yoked" also refers to the connection we share as trainer and client, my duty to program and deliver effective workouts, provide accurate health and fitness guidance, to hold you accountable and help you meet your own goals on your own journey.

With everything the word can mean and what it means to me - I think it's the perfect fit for what I offer, and I'm very happy with it.

Get connected, and get stronger.

Get Yoked.

Interested?
Check out our website for more information:
getyoked.com.au

03/11/2023

If you want to get fit, you have to start looking in the right places.

Yogurt is healthy, right?
Sure - if the macros look like this. High protein, low fat, lowish sugar. You can choose an option with some extra fat if you'd like, but I prefer to add some sunflower seeds or pepitas, some cocoa nibs - maybe even olive oil - so the low fat option rounds the meal out.

If you're looking at yogurt and it doesn't look like this - again, a little bit more fat is fine, but that's the only thing I'd change - it might be yogurt, but it's not healthy.

You can get some fancy, deluxe, ultra creamy, fruit infused, so and such and all it ends up as is indistinguishable to ice-cream. Don't make the mistake of thinking that all yogurt is healthy - always check the nutritional information.

Personally? I think all the extra stuff is unnecessary. I get far more use out of plain, substitute it for sour cream, use it in marinades - goes really well with roasted beetroot, too - and it makes some pretty fantastic tzatziki.

01/11/2023

90% of Diets End in Failure - WHY?

It's not as simple as set points, or genetics, or anything else - although these things do play into it. It's because most diets don't change anything. People are attracted to diets because they offer a quick fix to something that has more often than not been a long standing problem. They approach diets as a product, and treat them like a product, and like any product, it doesn't change a thing about YOU as an individual.

Sustainable weight loss comes from a genuine knowledge of nutrition, changes made to your relationship towards food and living a more active lifestyle, ideally in combination with a structured exercise routine. It comes from deeper change. Sure, you can drop 10, 20, 30, however many kilos on soups and shakes - but all you learn from that diet is soups and shakes, and you can't live the rest of your life on soups and shakes.

Diet ends, and you're still the person you are, albeit however many kilos lighter. But you don't know how food works. You don't know how exercise works. You haven't actually changed your relationship with food; you don't have the discipline to move that temporary intervention into a lifestyle change. And that temporary intervention fades into the distance, and you're left without the knowledge and tools to maintain your new weight, and however gradually, all that progress evaporates.

Give an individual the knowledge they need to structure their own approach to exercise and nutrition, show them how much better they feel when they're eating and exercising properly - how much better they look, how much more their body can do - and give them the confidence and accountability needed to meet their goals...

And the weight stays off, guaranteed.

It's not a quick fix. It's a journey.
Need a guide on your journey?

Get YOKED.

Interested?
Check out our website for more information:
getyoked.com.au

30/10/2023

27/10/2023

Did you know you can just... run? It's true. It takes some effort to get there, but working up to being able to run for 30 minutes even just three times a week offers incredible health benefits.

Here's the guide I used in my own training - as long as you're already doing a little bit of walking, it's an extremely effective way to get into running.

25/10/2023

One standard chocolate bar (I'm not going to name names) every day equals 90,520 calories per year.

Let's think about that. Exercise nutrition tells us that's over ELEVEN kilos of weight - and it's not going to be muscle, let's be real here, ELEVEN kilos of FAT - from a simple, often habitual choice, over the span of a year.

It's just something people do. And we all like chocolate. The obesity epidemic is no mystery.

With a little bit of mindfulness and some discipline... if that stops being a daily choice and instead becomes a special treat, maybe twice a week? If nothing else changes, that's over eight kilos of weight loss a year. In theory - in practice, yes, it's somewhat more complicated than that. But the idea alone is a powerful one.

For you, the chocolate bar might not be every day. And it might not be a chocolate bar. Could it be, perhaps, a cappuccino? Or an iced coffee? Sugary sodas? Energy dense sauces? Too much oil, perhaps? Thinking long term, thinking holistically, there's lots of little things we can tighten up for gradual, sustainable results without even moving into more serious weight loss approaches.

If you do want to diet hard, you still need to base that choice in proper knowledge and changed behavior. Sure, everyone might be able to drop a kilo of fat a week for a month or two. But you'll need to change your relationship with food to guarantee you can keep the weight off, or you're going to be fighting a losing battle against a body that would much rather stick to the size it's used to.

Personal Training is a way to invest directly in yourself, to gain the education and skills you need to take control of your physical body, and your life. The positive effects of developing a more conscious approach to nutrition, ongoing regular exercise and earning a body you're proud of are profound beyond all words.

Interested?
Check out our website for more information:
getyoked.com.au