Manically busy…

Rushing Around…

One minute you’re here, one minute you’re there…

Spending a lot of time and energy….

But with little to show in terms of results?

*Raises hand*

Guilty Officer!

Man, it’s been a busy few months here at Xcelerate HQ!

• Racing for team GB in Glasgow for Triathlon
• Holidays
• Kitchen renovations
• Organising and participating in our most recent Xcelerate group charity challenge that saw us scale the 3 biggest peaks of the Chilterns.
• Putting up friends visiting from Australia
• Ticking off a ‘biggie’ on the ole bucket list by travelling the North Coast of Scotland
• Preparing to race for team GB in Ibiza
• Hiring a new Xcelerate coach and mentoring him in his first few months
• Organising our Xmas Challenge
• And all whilst doing my utmost to provide the Xcelerate gang  all they need to thrive and succeed.

Sheesh….

I bet you’re probably looking at that and thinking…

‘Compared to me, that’s nothing pal!’

And I hear ya!

But the point today being…..

At some point or another we can all find ourselves stuck being BUSY simply being BUSY….

Turning the hamster wheel with all our might… but not necessarily getting anywhere.

I call it the ‘Busyness Delusion’

The dysfunctional belief that busyness is the same as effectiveness despite our own evidence suggesting otherwise.

Albert Einstein once said that ‘You can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it’

When we’re busy and rushing through life, we’re often short fused, short tempered, snappy, out of sync with ourselves and all that goes on around us.

Our thinking is fuzzy, our decision making is poor and our focus is short lived and erratic. 

An indicator that they aren’t operating from the correct area of the brain associated with change and forward motion – let alone achieving what is important to us.

And to top that….a persistent busy state can be one of the greatest disguises for procrastination there is.

(You’re not hiding from the things you know you need to do by ‘being busy’ are you?)

Busy back to back schedules and busy minds rarely allow you to see the fruits of your labour.

Effective and efficient actions applied consistently and cleverly do.

But you knew that already, right?

The problem with ‘busyness’ is that it becomes a self perpetuating cycle that can be difficult to break.

Busyness simply breeds more busyness!

The only solution is an intervention.

This weekend I raised my own little white flag and took part in my own intervention before another manic week ensued.

And I thought I would share how you too can get off the hamster wheel and start seeing what you want…pronto!

1. Take a breath. Sit down. Do nothing. Let everything settle.
2. Re-evaluate where you want to go. Is your current trajectory heading you there? If not…carry on down the list chum…
3. Take a look at where you are currently spending your time and energy. Are you spending the right amount of time on the right things?
4. Address the energy vampires and things that are sucking your time from you unnecessarily.
5. Set some KPI’s (key performance indicators) or mini goals which will allow you to focus your mind and ultimately lead you to head back in the right direction.
6. Work out how much time you need to realistically achieve those mini goals.
7. Use your diary. Move appointments and commitments around. Jiggle them about so you create more space and undistracted time to focus.
8. Look at where you’ve got to drop some ‘No’s’ to allow you to priortise some ‘Yes’s’. You can’t bring your best by pleasing everyone all the time.
9. Delegate small tasks that can be done by others to allow you more time to thrive.
10. Move forwards

I betcha have!

Close and confined, snotty noses, armpits in faces and the that lovely person reminding us at each station to…

‘Mind The Gap’

There are 2 gaps to consider when it comes to long term results.

One you probably are already are aware of.

But the other….

Well it’s the gap that most forget and the one that is probably costing you your results.

Y’see the first gap involves knowing where you are right now and knowing where you want to get to.

The distance between the two is ‘The Gap’.

Most of us know this gap well and address it accordingly when we turn our sights to transformation.

But the other gap…

Well this involves knowing WHO you are right now and WHO you need to be in order to get where you want.

You know it yourself, you can give 2 people access to the same information, tools, hacks and strategies.

Yet one can win. And one can fail.

How can this happen?

Well y’see the difference comes in how the person applies those ‘golden nuggets’.

Anyone can have access to information these days, but the thing that people struggle with is the application.

A question that I might have you ponder today is identifying your own personal ‘gap’ – the one between who you are now and who you need to be to get what you want.

If you spend enough time around people who set their goals and succeed, you’ll begin to notice key traits in their personalities, their behaviours, their habits and their approach.

Their results are not by chance.

Part of their success will of course be based upon having access to the correct information, but equally part of it will be based on the strategies they use to stay committed and the strategies they use to stay consistent.

The good news is that if you can open your mind enough to identify ‘what’s missing’ – what your gap is….

You can work on them.

You can grow.

And you can achieve whatever it is you so wish.

It’s why I like to get my gang to address both ‘Gaps’ before they begin their pursuit….

So friend…what skills, behaviours and habits do you need to work on, to close the gap and turn fantasy to reality?

Sneeze.

And a big ole SPLUTTER!

Man! I have the flu bad!

I have spent the last few days tucked up under a blanket, swigging Lemsip, watching Netflix, recalling the day when food tasted of something and feeling awfully sorry for myself.

I even let out a few token ‘Man Flu Wimpers’ which grate upon my wife like nails on a chalkboard.

I was in such a sorry state that even as I slipped on my running gear on Sunday morning, I lasted two or three heavy steps admitted defeat and went on the retreat.

Following that, ‘red mark’ after ‘red mark’ began being logged as ‘missed sessions’ in my training diary after weeks of solid greens.

Damn it!

When you get thrown a curve ball, something that isn’t in your control, it’s easy to get demotivated.

That’s if you don’t understand the science about how long term results are really formed.

Did you know that on its way to landing astronauts safely on the moon, the Apollo rocket was only ‘on course’ 2-3% of the time.

Which meant for at least 97% of the time it took to get from the earth to the moon it was considered off-course.

So how did Armstrong and Aldrin eventually get their butts on the moon, take one step for man and one giant leap for man kind?

Through ‘Course Correction’.

Y’see one of the biggest fallacies of transformation is that results are linear.

I’ve trained people for over 10 years and lost over 100lbs myself, my friend, I will tell you that from experience they certainly are not.

The quicker you can drop that faulty belief, the quicker you will get what you want.

If you track the progress of a long term transformation over the course of a year, you will see peaks, troughs and plateaus.

Sometimes they are winning and the stars are aligned

Sometimes they are failing and wondering why on earth they even bothered.

But the key to getting people the results they yearn for?

A solid view of the ‘finish line’ – Knowing what it looks like and how to get there

And a lot of course correction along the way.

‘Course Correction’ in the weight loss category is not sexy.

It requires trying new things out, adjusting things up and down, changing methods and modalities.

But the one thing that slows it down…emotion.

The more emotional we get about the times we ‘aren’t winning’ the longer it takes us to ‘stop falling’

So my friend, if life has thrown you a curve ball, this year or last….

Just have a little ponder to thyself…is it time to throw in the towel as your head may be telling you…or just time to course correct and get back heading in the right direction?

Am I too old?

Am I too fat?

Am I too unfit?

Am I too injured?

It’s a fair question for anybody about to take the leap into transforming their lives, right?

Afterall, nobody likes to feel like they won’t be able to succeed.

Nobody likes to feel like they’ll be the slowest or the worst.

Yet time after time I hear horror stories of inappropriate strategies being given to folks which are setting them up for failure before they even start.

^^^ Way to boost people’s confidence…

We work with a HUGE variety of clients here at Xcelerate from all different backgrounds, all different ages, with all different levels of injuries and of all different shapes and sizes.

Just today I had a consult with 1 person who was due a knee replacement, the other due a hip replacement.

Yesterday I had a consult with someone at 25 stone ready to take the big leap.

Last week I had a consult with a lovely chap looking to hit a PB at half marathon.

We really do have them all in our gang!

No matter what your goal though – there is one key to success that so many miss:

Find a plan or program that you can happily commit too day in day out, for a sustained period of time until all the little habits and behaviors that are bringing you success just become a part of life without any form of resistance.

It really is as simple as that.

So if you can’t stick to it – you’re on the wrong plan

If you’re bored – you’re on the wrong plan

If you’re sick of X – you’re on the wrong plan

If you’re longing to go back to the days when you could eat chocolate – you’re on the wrong plan

If it hurts you (aka aggravates your injury) – Sheesh you’re on the wrong plan.

To get people on the RIGHT plan for them there is one rule I hold.

MEET THE PERSON WHERE THEY ARE.

Not where they were….

Not where they want to be…

Where they are RIGHT NOW!

It’s a non negotiable.

What worked for them 25 years ago….probably won’t work now.

What was posted on Instagram or facebook just yesterday…probably won’t work for them now.

You are an individual and you need your own individual strategy.

The nutritional and exercise strategy for someone who is at 25 stone and 50% bodyfat should NOT look like the plan you give to someone looking to drop a dress size.

The nutritional and exercise strategy for an athlete should NOT look like the plan you give someone who just wants to optimize their health and tone up a bit.

The plan ALWAYS starts with YOU.

It’s why in every consultation we take a 20,000 foot view of where you are, your nutritional history, your successes, your failures, your likes, dislikes, your hormonal environment, your digestion, your stress levels and your lifestyle to give us the best possible starting ground to get you the results you deserve.

We meet you where you are.

So now we’ve covered that one….

You ready? Click here à  www.xceleratefitness.co.uk/apply

Scott ‘You’re Always Enough!’ Marsh

My wife is never one to mince her words…

But she kinda has a point.

It’s all fun and games when the snow first falls.

• You take a few moments to appreciate the beautiful place you live
• You take a few pictures.
• Throw a few snowballs
• Perhaps build a snowman (although it seems snow cats and snow bunny’s were on trend this year)
• You pop on your ‘comfies’ and sit in the warm comfort of home relishing in the fact it’s something you never get to do.

But when the snow continues to fall and the depths continue to increase, it kind of loses it’s magic a little, doesn’t it?

When you’ve got places to be, people to see and things to do – the novelty wears out.

Your weekly food shop delivery get’s cancelled and the local supermarket you never use stocks little more than custard and wilted veg.

You grow frustrated that your house is now foodless and go on a ‘ready steady cook’ mission trying to work out what on earth you can cook with some black pudding, a leek and some strawberries.

The once cute childhood giggles outside your window turn to irritation when they’ve just rolled and deposited a 6ft high ball of snow directly behind your car…

And then ofcourse comes the sad realization that you’re well and truly stranded and all the great intentions you had for your day have been placed on the ‘laterbase’  leaving you behind for the week ahead.

The same goes for most people when they start their weight loss journey.

We all have our inner magpie.

We love ‘shiney, new and different’

The plan begins, we are motivated, excited and ‘in the zone’

But a few weeks later the motivation has turned to irritation, the excitement has turned to boredom and the zone…well it was nice while it lasted!

But what if I told you that getting despondent with your plan – was actually part of the process?

And what if I told you that it is those who carefully manage this part of it were the ones who eventually got everything they wanted?

Most journeys go a bit like this:

‘This is the best idea ever!!!’

‘This will be fun’

‘Hmmmm this is harder than I thought’

‘Damn, this is going to be a lot of hard work’

‘Groan, this sucks and I have no idea what I am doing’

And then comes the ‘Pool of despair’ – which is where most people give up.

It’s when the realization comes that the task is a lot bigger you thought and it’s going to take a little longer than you predicted.

Some people call it the ‘is it worth it? stage’

However, like I do with my gang we call an intervention and reframe this key moment – renaming it the ‘pool of choice’.

It’s a key part in the game where we have to keep what is useful, discard what is not, re-align goals and expectations, work on making the plan more joyful and ensure it is workable for the long run with as little pain, struggle and sacrifice as possible.

And post successful intervention, slowly but surely they come out the other side:

‘Ok, got it but it still sucks’

‘I’m doing it, I’m doing it, but really feeling like giving up still’

‘Hmmm’

‘Hey’

‘Wow’

‘I DID IT’

Weight loss…sure it’s always fun for the first 5 minutes….but it doesn’t have to be bulls**t

Scott ‘Sorry For My Wife’s Bad Language’ Marsh
Personal Trainer Marlow

Red felt suits, white scratchy beards and a bit of sweat for good measure.

Yesterday marked our 7^th year as a group participating at the annual Marlow Santa Fun Run.

As per usual we had a super turn out and everyone left ‘buzzing’ – chuffed with their own individual achievements!

Each year our Xcelerate gang together participate in various different challenges.

From scaling Snowdon to completing the famous three peaks challenge

From rolling around in mud races all the way through to completing our very own adventure triathlon ‘The Dragon’ that saw us scale a mountain, paddle a lake and abseil a quarry all in 12hours.

So why do I bother meticulously planning such regular events for my gang?

Well truth be told – for a lot more reasons than you may think.

First and foremost – let’s face it.

Weight loss is boring.

There is only so long that a person can maintain the excitement and motivation to consistently chase numbers on the scale and eat a diet similar to that of a pet bunny.

However, one nifty trick I learned from my own weight loss journey was that if you set small and regular targets/challenges for yourself that hold you accountable to eating well, moving more and staying on track – not only can you bag yourself some big old ‘confidence points’ by completing things you said you’d do – but look and feel a whole lot better in yourself too!

(Plus it gives your gym work a whole new lease of life and purpose!)

Secondly participating in challenges (particularly social ones) helps wire your brain for success.

I kid you not!

Dopamine for example is a key neurotransmitter that our brain produces that nudges us to DO STUFF. It’s the main reason we can focus and achieve great things even if the payout is not immediate or obvious.

Dopamine is released when we are working towards things and when we achieve them/finish them.

More Little challenges = More Dopamine Release = More Motivation To Achieve Other Goals.

On the same level, oxytocin, another neurotransmitter – also known as the ‘cuddle hormone’ helps us forget ourselves and our problems and feel loved.

When is it released? – when we increase our connections with people and bond socially.

Hence why we do these challenges as a group :- )

And finally – behind most weight loss and fat loss goals lies a desire to find happiness.

From someone who has been there and done it.

After many years in pursuit. The eventual number achieved on the scale was the greatest con of all!

It took a long time for me to realise that my happiness would never reside in a number on the scale but instead be a result of the things I learned, the people I met, the relationships I formed and the adventures I had in pursuit of that number.

Happiness comes from GROWTH.

Come join our gang: www.xceleratefitness.co.uk/apply

Scott Marsh
Personal Trainer Marlow

In fact there have been three things I’ve been banned from talking about in our household as of late.

• The temperature
• The weather
• The darkness

And the bonus ban…I’m no longer allowed to use the phrase:

‘We should have booked a holiday’

Now I know I’m not the only one suffering!

Client after client has reported the extra energy it has taken them to get to the gym, how their cravings have increased for comfort ‘stodge’ and how they feel like they are losing entire days to the darkness and substituting all their good habits for some sofa and blanket time.

Besides from our habits changing with the seasons, the grim winter also can have a dramatic impact on your weight loss results, your sleep and how you feel.

The big player in this comes down to our lack of the ‘sunshine vitamin’ this time of year: vitamin d.

And it’s a ‘hot topic’ – (Ok I’m done)

Low levels of vitamin D can:

• Hamper our immune system and open us up to illness and flu
• Lower our mood (and even contribute to depression)
• Cause us to feel fatigue and tiredness
• Limit our ability to deal with carbohydrates and sugars
• And much much more

Told you it was a ‘hot topic’

But with the darkness causing such havoc what can we do?

There are multiple nutrition interventions we can make to optimize results this time of year including supplementation (although it’s worth getting your levels checked first by a doc)

But one of my favourite interventions:  ‘Midday Mass’

We know that one of our key ways of increasing our ‘D’ is to get outside in the sun.

And with the sun peaking in winter time around the midday mark it’s a key opportunity for you to get that butt outside, enjoy the lunchbreak that you are actually paid for and get an increase of the ‘good stuff’.

Research shows you need about 20 minutes exposure to receive any real benefit.

But you’ll be pleased to know that a bit of fresh air has many other benefits too.

Wanna hear them?

Well I thought you’d never ask:

• Walking in nature is associated with the lowering of a hormone called cortisol. It’s reduction in the body helps with belly fat reduction.
• Low level walking can aid fat being released from the fat cells
• It can reduce cravings particularly for carbohydrates and sugars
• It has lots of research in regards to boosting mood and helping with depression
• It inserts natural pauses into your day and changing your environments helps to clear the mind and improve focus for the rest of the day ahead.

Nifty huh?

In fact, walking outside is one of my key little interventions I use with many of my girls when they hit a plateau – particularly if they’re are pre- peri or post menopausal.

Maybe there is something afterall in the ’10,000 steps a day’ craze

Get that butt outside girl!

Scott ‘Cold, Wet, Dark’ Marsh
Personal Trainer Marlow

P.S. I should have booked a holiday.

10 Days till you can open your first window on the advent calendar…

And a week or so till all those Christmas parties, festive drinks and family meet ups begin…that’s if they haven’t started already.

It’s probably not the right time to start a weight loss goal.

It’s probably not the right time to start pursuing a goal to increase your energy.

It’s probably not the right time to boost your confidence and improve your mood.

And despite what every copy-cat cliché fitness trainer around the country is telling you…

It’s probably not the right time to pursue the task of fitting yourself into that ‘little black dress’

So whatever progress you’ve made through 2017 up until till now…

Y’may as well throw the towel in.

But WAIT ONE SECOND young whipper snapper!

Did you know that out of all of our months in the year, December is actually our busiest time?

It’s also the time when we see our clients get some of their best results?

Weird huh?

Let me explain…

Unlike every other fitness company…

We don’t do ‘28 day challenges’ here.

We don’t use ‘2 week blitz’s’

We don’t encourage ‘Little Black Dress’ plans…

We use the same fat busting, confidence building, figure changing, mood boosting, sleep improving, happiness promoting formula we use for all the other 11 months of the year.

Why?

Because it works.

Short term plans though…

= Short term results.

We don’t do that here.

We help you transform for good.

And to do that your personal strategy needs to be able to weather the storms.

It needs to be able to deal with whatever life throws at it.

It needs to be sustainable. (And no, you cannot live on shakes forever)

The seasons will come. The seasons will go.

Christmas.

Valentines Day.

Easter.

Your Summer Holidays.

If your plan doesn’t allow enough flexibility for you to continue getting results through these annual events and continues to make you feel guilty and angry at yourself when you can’t sustain it ….then it isn’t the plan for you.

So don’t throw the towel in my friend.

With our new girls averaging half a stone to stone loss in weight in their first month.

December can be YOUR month for success too, let me show you how: www.xceleratefitness.co.uk/apply

Scott ‘Ho Ho Ho’ Marsh

Personal Trainer Marlow