PLANNING

Why are you going to the gym? Why do those exercises? Why do that many reps and sets? Why are you resting for that long? How come you haven’t done that exercise that everyone says you should do? Why are you lifting weights? Why are you doing cardio?

Why are you eating that? How is that going to help you with your goal? Do you even have a goal? Why didn’t you buy something healthier? Shouldn’t you have bought more of that? What will you do if you run out of time? Could your effort be better directed?

Head = Explode!

People with a plan can answer all of these questions. Some people leave that to their coach and focus purely on the execution. That's a great way to save on time and works great. Others, even those with coaches, like to know every detail and it helps them execute - that is also great.

Plans add context. No single session or meal is responsible for who you are or what you accomplish. Without a plan, every session or meal loses impact. There is nothing to take that action forwards and run to its potential.

Proceed without context and you are wasting your time.

We are going to create your plan so you don't need to worry about that. We will dig into all the details and find answers to the questions above. that been said, it is important that if you are confused by any element of your plan, that you ask for clarity. Those that understand their plan, tend to carry it out better (generally speaking).

We will do our best to let you know what you need to know when you need it. After all, who wants to be bombarded with loads of information!

In the meantime, be confident in the fact that you will have a plan. that puts you in a far better position to succeed.

FUELLING

If you listened to everyone, you wouldn’t eat anything. Every food group has been demonised, giving you cancer or making you fat. Unfortunately, people do some surface-level studying and get wrapped up in slogans and falling into tribal ‘diet gangs’. They claim that things are addictive, immoral or make you fat - They often don’t know what they are talking about. This can be incredibly limiting to someone looking to fuel their body for the better. If you don’t adhere to the information, you are seen to be bad, cheating or guilty. No wonder people struggle to stick to a plan, make better choices and feel good about themselves.

People, unfortunately, want you to agree with them and support their own actions, rather than help you find your own way. This ‘posturing’ has a lot to answer for!

The good news is - what you eat is YOUR business.

Everyone will have an opinion on it, but you need to eat in a way that makes you happy and enhances your life. Full stop!

Food truly does have the potential to make you look better, feel better and function better. This can be done even under strict budgets or busy schedules. It is possible, but it is different for everyone. What worked for your pal, may not work for you.

The BearWolf Method addresses the details of a person lifestyle but has broad, basic strokes that are covered first.

In order to have food enhance your life, there are two elements that you will need to address.

QUALITY - The foods you select, the variety, where they come from, how they taste.

QUANTITY - The amounts you eat them in and the balance.

Taken to the extreme, they can be limiting. But as we say time and time again, better NOT perfection.

Fuelling mind and body is a real skill. Our lives are some complex and easily thrown out of a routine, that it can be hard to find solutions to problems on the fly.

We use our 'Eat Like a BearWolf' document as the basis of our process, but the subtle differences from person to person will vary. All you need to worry about is that you understand the changes and why they are beneficial. It can get confusing, so please ask your coach if you are ever unsure - no matter how big or small.

CONTROL

We often demonise stress as being the key problem in life, but stress can be awesome. The bi-product of caring about something, working hard, adapting and overcoming.

When we can’t cope, we are in a place of discomfort, a new territory that is essential for us to do things we have never done before and the opportunity to prevail. It’s scary, but it can also be exciting.

If you want to develop, you must be ready for stress. Be it hitting the weights, opening a book or making a change to your diet. You will need to focus your efforts and take some form of a cognitive or physical hit to come back smarter or stronger.

It is necessary to be the best version of yourself. It will happen and it is okay. The problem is how we manage it. If we let stress take control, it can easily consume us, wasting our time, energy and effort.

I'm sure you get stressed daily.

What do you do to control it?

What do you do to hit the reset button, so that tomorrow you are ready for the next batch of stress?

This is the skill of control. A skill that few seek in acquiring, but is essential in seeing stress as a positive. If you want to make your life better, you need to learn how to respect and utilise this potentially destructive feeling.

EASIER SAID THAN DONE

A good general principle is that if you are stressing about something out of your control - worrying won't help. Try your best to acknowledge that you have done everything you can and deal with the situation when it comes.

If it is within your control. Do everything within your ability to encourage your desired outcome. Only then will you be truly satisfied and able to move on.

Yes, it's easier said than done, but it's not a bad place to start.

SWITCH OFF

Find something that helps you switch off. Exercise is preferable. We frequently use a tough workout to get out of our head and into our body! Simply put, it is difficult to worry about bills or a work project when you have a heavyweight pressed over your head! To us, it is meditation.

Some people find great benefit in meditation. Apps like Headspace or Waking Up are highly recommended in assisting people with this process.

But it doesn't have to be a definitive practice - reading a book, playing a game or going for a walk can all yield similar results for different people. What is yours?

Another great tip for when you are feeling stressed is to try to help someone else. An act of generosity often shifts the focus away from you and can be a catalyst for a better day. Call a friend, buy a stranger a coffee or help a neighbour cut their grass, it's a great distraction and will make you feel better.

MOVEMENT

People think they are more active than they are.

It’s easy to take what our bodies are capable of for granted. We often don’t utilise them half as well as we could. The many elements of a modern-day lifestyle lock us down into static positions for long periods. At the desk, in the car, on the train.

During a hard day of work, we burn out mentally and physically and crave collapsing onto the sofa at the end of the day. In our head we know that this is counterproductive - it just feels so damn good!

We want to be active. To move more. To utilise what we have.

We can meet this desire by waiting and hoping for the situation to present itself.

“I will do it tomorrow.”

“The weather is horrible.”

“I have had a busy day”

Don’t be a victim of circumstance. If you are, you will move so little that you will limit what your body is capable of. Look forward to aches, pains, and restriction.

You need to command the situation. You need to get out of your head and into your body.

There will always be a reason to stay still. Even if you are on your feet, or even exercising, could you do more?

Probably.

Definitely!

SO HOW SHOULD YOU START?

Start small. Small enough to ensure that you can do it with some consistency.

There is a common perception that training needs to take hours and hours - it is false. All you need to do is go for more than you typically would. if you typically spend all of your time sitting at a desk, a short walk is progress and is far more reasonable to do with consistency than two hours of weight training. The weight training may yield better short term results, but isn't sustainable for someone that currently does little activity. Therfor in the long term, it won't get the results of consistent, albeit less intense, activity.

Little and often is commonly the best remedy. If you find yourself hunched over a laptop for long periods of time you may balance it out with an hour of yoga once a week. That's awesome, but you could add a small amount of movement throughout your week and be far more effective. Why not take once simple stretch that you feel has the most profound positive effect and perform it every day. Even if it's just for a minute, it allows you to test and 'top-up' your range of motion on a more frequent basis.

One of the best things is, small action leads to bigger action. You might set off on a 10-minute walk, but that can easily increase into a 15-minute walk and so on. Before you know it, you start creating the time for movement and end up with one of the healthiest habits you can build.

WHAT NOW?

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FOCUS

Do you get distracted?

Do you find yourself making time, but not using it effectively?

They say that showing up is half of the battle and its true. Never underestimate the difficulties of putting the time aside to train or to prepare your meals.

But the other half is yet to come, and without it, we have nothing. You can schedule your diary to perfection. Creating numerous opportunities to be better, faster stronger.

You can easily waste each one of them.

f you find yourself often distracted at the gym or with your nutrition. On your phone, in long conversations mid-workout, having session draw out for hours at a time. Then you lack focus. You will find yourself progressing at a reduced rate, if at all. You will struggle to hold yourself accountable and put yourself in situations that allow you to develop and grow.

Do you want to attack the next set, knowing that it will drain your energy, burn your muscles and leave you in a state of fatigue? Or would you rather get involved in a conversation across the room and spend the next 5 minutes chilling and having a laugh? It can be difficult to endure a moment of suffering for a long term goal when that easy short term option is dangling right in front of you. It is not hard to understand why many shy away from the difficult action that needs to be done in lieu of something more familiar and comfortable.

If you are a busy person, this simply isn’t okay! You and your time are far more valuable than you allow.

Those that maximise their time are presented with the same opportunities to stop, be distracted and waste their time - however, they focus on the task at hand, block everything out and go after the actions that get them where they want and need to be.

This isn’t about you becoming an anti-social gym robot. It’s about you knowing what you want and ensuring that your actions meet it. Time is precious, don’t sink it into short term gratification, channel it into long term success.

HERE'S HOW

Ther are a few little systems we can put in place to help you make the best use of your time.

1. Set a session goal.

Go into the gym knowing what you want to come out with.

What would have to take place for you to deem that session successful? Perhaps you want to hit a personal best on every exercise? Maybe you want to finish your session within a specific timeframe?

All you need is something to measure your focus on.

2. Mitigate distractions.

Are you prone to extending your rest times because you are talking to your buddy? Set a timer.

Do people bother you when you are mid-session? Wear headphones.

Do you find yourself on social media in the gym? Set your phone on aeroplane mode and block out the notifications.

This is the art of anticipation. Look ahead and see what could get in your way - the solutions will then present themselves.

3. Set a schedule

Not just for the gym or food prep, but for the fun stuff too. That way you can dedicate yourself fully to one task at a time, rather than procrastinating or diverting attention. That way, when you are relaxing/having fun etc you can enjoy it without feeling guilty.

4. Remember - you are human.

It is hard to focus, so don't be annoyed if you get distracted. Acknowledge the long term goal and understand that the short-term gratification of losing focus, while understandable, will not help you achieve what you truly want. You don’t have to be a robot about it, but you do need to play the long game.

WHAT TO DO NOW

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CONSISTENCY

Do you struggle to stay on the path?

Perhaps you skip a session and standstill?

Maybe, in a rush, you grab a quick bite that diverts you off course?

You know that you want to reach the end goal, and understand that it will feel great when you do.

Fitter,

Stronger,

Faster.

But these tiny deviations can build up, and easily escalate into you moving further away from what it is that you want.

Consistency is a life skill. A skill that can be learned and applied to make the journey to any fitness goal easier. For those that fall off the path, acquiring this skill is the key to get you back on and moving forward.

It is easy to understand why we struggle with consistency.

For the vast majority of us, life isn’t all about this particular path. There is more to it, and it is constantly throwing distractions, obstacles, and pitfalls that make it longer, narrower and steeper.

Working late,

Wanting to spend time with loved ones,

Not having the energy.

Unfortunately, there is no quick route to the end. No single step will move you forward. It takes a series of steps over the entire journey.

We know that at times we will stand still, we will go in the wrong direction and we will fall back. In times like these, it's easy to forget about what you want to achieve, let the weight pile on, let the strength fade and fall victim to your situation.

Or you can shape your path.

SHAPING YOUR PATH

Make it wider, lighter and easier to walk. Meeting any step back with two steps forward. Countering distraction with focus, problems with solutions and excuses with action.

We need to understand that to satisfy ourselves emotionally we often follow actions that we know aren't the best for us. We need to create an environment that directs our emotional side into making the right decisions.

For example, say you are looking to reduce your calories and know that you need to cut down on sweet sugary snacks.

In times of stress it can be difficult to say no to that delicious chocolate bar that you hid, but clearly, know exactly where it is (you were the one that hid it after all.)

So we need to shape our path when we are in a state of clarity. This may involve binning the sugary snacks you have at home or providing 'easy to grab' healthier alternatives. By doing this, we give ourselves far more room to make better decisions and reduce the chances of straying.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU FALL OFF TRACK

First off, this will happen - it happens to everyone. So don't beat yourself up about it. You just need to do one simple thing - own it.

You fell off track because you fell off track. It's a reasonable thing to do, so there is no reason to blame someone else, make an excuse or moan about it.

Why? Because NONE of those elements will get you back on track, and will only serve in shifting the ownership away from you and out of your control.

Instead, you are going to identify the reason you deviated from the plan and highlight it under the perspective that it was entirely your fault, and tougher still - you are going to believe it!

This puts you in an incredibly powerful position. One in which you are in control of the situation and able to find a solution. Own the problem, and you put the remedy in the hands of the only person you can control - you!

So for example. Let's say you work in a job where you often have to work later than anticipated. Where it is common to receive an email 5 minutes before you leave that keeps you at your desk for another hour. This happens to people all of the time and can be a real obstacle in getting in that gym session after work.

You can blame someone else as to why you skipped the gym.

"They should do their job better so I shouldn't have to clean up their mess and finish late."

See how fit that gets you.

Or you could own it.

"I missed the gym because I failed to create a contingency plan. I know this can happen, so I should have prepared better."

This is someone we can easily help.

You/We can create a workout for this exact circumstance, even if it is a 10 minute home workout that relieves you of the drive to the gym and saves on time. It may not accelerate you through the path as effectively, but it stops you standing still or falling back.

When you see fit people, that achieve their goals, you often see the same amount of obstacles, they just have more ownership over them.

WHAT TO DO NOW

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