Adjust your focus and set sail for your goals

Three frogs are sitting on a bridge. Two decide to jump in the river. 

How many are left on the bridge?

No it's not a trick question as such - but even I got it wrong.

The answer is three. You see the frogs only decided to jump in. They didn't actually 'jump' in.

So you may think what relevance this has to anything. Well, it relates to focus. If you answered one, you were focusing on the wrong part of the question.

How many of you out there have set goals, but don't seem to be getting anywhere near them? How many of you have 'decided' your going to get stronger, or decided you are going to get fitter or eat healthier?

Compare that to how many of you 'are' getting fitter, stronger or stepping towards your goals? The answer lies in your focus.

If you go about attaining your goals putting your effort into the wrong things you will never obtain what it is you are working for.

People put the effort in. I can't complain - they do (in the hours I see them during the week) everything asked of them. But it's what happens during the rest of the week that makes the real difference. Loose focus and progress will never be made.

So if your trying to increase your fitness, and you rock up to the gym three to five times a week, give 100% and feel that you are not getting anywhere, maybe you should look and what your doing in your time away from the gym.

Are you staying focused and eating the best you possibly can, drinking plenty of water, sleeping 8+ hours a night and not binging at the weekend?

Now be honest...

And don't tell me it's not possible, if you can find time to 'focus' on watching Breaking Bad then you can find time to do some simple meal prep or get an extra hours sleep.

OK, so what if you are lacking focus, and you just really don't know where to start?

I find the best thing to do is look at your goal and break it down. Write down what is needed to get you there. This is all the things you think would make you achieve that goal. It may even be things that your not willing to do.

Once you have a list pick out a couple of things that you feel confident you could do from the list. I'm talking on a scale of zero to ten (with ten being 100% you can do that habit 24/7) pick something you feel that you are at a nine or ten on - any less and it won't stick.

Also, don't pick more than a couple-we need to focus remember! Once you have your tasks, give them a high priority in your life - make sure that 99% of the time you are focusing on those things.

Slowly, over time these tasks will become easier and you can assign yourself new ones. Before you know it you will be on that road and speeding 'legally' towards your goal.

Beth Hoggarth Personal Training

Pizza time!

In my last post I talked about the 'emotional' brain, and how sometimes it can get the better of us making us give in to our cravings. Well here is an idea for you... You can have the pizza!

Yes I said that right, pizza. Only this one you know exactly what is in it. This super tasty treat has a base made from cauliflower, eggs and a little cheese, making it low carb and high protein.

Even better is that you can load it with veggies which equals lots of nutrients. It's so simple to make that even I can manage it without any major kitchen disasters. And I have had quite a few in the past!

So here is your ingredient list...
1 cauliflower
3 free range eggs
200g grated cheese
Tomato puree'
Plus whatever is your choice of topping - get as many fresh vegetables in as you can!

1) Blend half a cauliflower, until it has a rice like consistency.

2) Crack your eggs and whisk them, then add them to your mix along with half the grated cheese -add salt and pepper to taste,

3) Pour out onto a non stick tray - I used grease proof paper for extra non stickiness. Then use the back of a spoon to flatten into a traditional pizza shape. Don't worry if the mix seems a little sloppy.

4) Bake in the oven for around 20 minutes. I use an AGA so its trial and error on the temperature, but a good indication is when the base has gone firm and started to brown on top

5) Take out the pizza base and add your choice of topping. Tonight I spreaded mine with tomato puree', then added whatever veggies I could find in the fridge. These happened to be tomatoes, mushrooms and rocket. I also added a sprinkle of cooked ham and oregano.

6) Stick your pizza back in the oven for another 12-15 minutes.

7) Enjoy :-)

Coaching - It's a beautiful thing

So it's been a long time since I posted last. Probably about three years to be more exact!
So much has changed in that time... So here's a brief rundown of some of the things that happened, and how my focus in life has shifted.

Well in my last post I was hoping to make Regionals (The CrossFit equivalent of the European Championships), and I did it! What an experience this was. I got to mix it up with some of the biggest names in the sport and compete on the same floor as them - It was nothing short of amazing!

Since then I have taken a step back from competing to coach. I use the term coach lightly, as being a 'coach' encompasses so many things.

The ladies hanging around after a hard but fun session!

The more I delve into this journey, the more I realise how complex it is. The way I see it is if you look at a coach from the outside, its like a duck (yes one that goes quack). You see the duck sat on top of the water floating away, paddling to it's hearts content, catching all the breadcrumbs and basking in the midday sun - you get the picture. Only underneath the duck is frantically paddling like fuck trying to avoid drowning and being eaten by all the nasties that are out there.

It may seem like a strange extreme analogy, but sometimes this is how it feels - the more I learn, the more I realise I don't know. And what I thought I knew - I question.

Is this the way that most coaches feel? I don't know, I can only speak for myself. Most coaches out there look like the have their shit together. But I do believe that if one ever proffessed to know everything I would be 99% sure that they would be lying. Yep dam straight - It's just not possible.

Concepts are changing, ideas are being remodelled, and there is always a flip to an argument.

And that's just the theory side to coaching! Which from my experience is only part of the job. After all this profession is dealing with people, not machines.

Unique intelligent people, who often let their emotional brain get the better of them. We have all been there, your rational side tells you why you should eat the food that is going to be most beneficial to you in the long run, but your emotional brain tells you that you just NEED that extra slice of pizza (check out the following blog post if you are a pizza lover) despite being full to the brim - sound familiar?

So when it comes to coaching we need to be empathetic, understanding, good communicators and listeners, mind readers, support workers and friends.

It's a challenge, but when everything comes together and you find that sweet spot of knowledge that is passed across to a client, is interpreted, understood and most of all is beneficial - It's a truly beautiful thing.

Everybody needs to know their coach is on their side.