Drew Baird explains how he has worked through challenging teenage years to become a personal trainer and how is able to draw on those experiences to help others overcome their fear of gyms and enjoy the benefits.
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Rod: Welcome everyone! Rod from Sport Adventure here again. And today I will continue our fantastic interview series where I interview inspirational people from around the world to share their expert insights on good nutrition, mountain biking, and men’s health.
My guest today has worked with some of the biggest names in the Australian fitness and weight loss industries including Anytime Fitness, Weight Watchers, Balance Health Clubs, and the Sydney Swans. He has a vision to be a global leader in health, fitness, and happiness bringing millions of people to achieve an outstanding life. And to help share his coaching expertise, he has created an online website under his own name. I would like to welcome online fitness Coach, Drew Baird. Welcome Drew.
Drew: Thank you Rod. It’s pleasure to be here.
Rod: Terrific. Thanks again for your time mate. Yeah, I really appreciate it. We will get rolling.
Drew: Wonderful.
Rod: Great. Mate for you what’s so good about being a fitness coach?
Drew: For me, number 1 obviously, it is my passion. I think anyone who can learn how to make money off their passion… When I say “earn money” you know a career. I am not focused on making money but as we all know we all have to pay our bills. So if you are in a position where you can monetize your passion and make a living of it then… I mean and that’s the dream, right? That’s what we all want to be able to wake up every day, go to work but feel like we never work a day in our life, you know? That’s what I have created.
So I got apprenticeship in electronics. Every day was a grind, you know? Every day I have to get up and go to work. From the last 3 years, I honestly haven’t worked a day in my life, you know? I am so passionate. I love what I do. I am literally excited to going to work. People think I am crazy when I say, “I can’t wait for Monday.” Most people say that about Saturday or Friday night but I am saying Monday because I love it. It makes working 7-days a week in these 80-100 hours a weeks, it is so enjoyable. So that’s the first thing is my passion.
For the second thing, growing up and going through… in my teenage years, I got developed extreme social anxiety. Through my later teenage years and in early 20’s, I went through a stage where I really didn’t leave the house because I was so fearful what other people thought of me. And fitness was my salvation. The day I become a personal trainer… I was always into fitness myself but the day I became a personal trainer, I remember sitting in my car just before about to start the jobs I never ever went to a gym. I was trying at home. The first time I went to the gym is when I got a job in one. I remember sitting in my car – before the first day of work – and I remember so well I just thought, “I had to put an act on now. I have to be that out going personal trainer that everyone expects. Over time that act has simply developed into who I am today.
So, I am sure I am lucky enough, over the last 10 years, that if I am going back 10 years and the 18 year old me, if he saw the man I have become he would be extremely proud and I am proud to say that. Yeah, the two things… The best thing about a being fitness coach is number 1 is my passion, and number 2 being able to assist other people to make the change that fitness is made in me. That need or that desire to contribute to other peoples live is just… On a daily basis, being able to getting the email saying: “You know you have changed my life. I have done, I have this. Thanks to your program.” You know that’s a truly wonderful feeling.
Rod: Yeah. Yeah. Certainly. Mate and having gone through that part of your life and being quite anxious and unsure about gyms, I am sure a number of your clients are probably in the similar boat. I know from myself. It was years in most of my life. I just steered clear of a gym, it wasn’t for me. It wasn’t until a couple of years ago where I actually went in, saw the benefits, and then getting some results and experience the benefits of that of everyday. So, for you having live that and you can help people work through some of those challenges themselves as well, it would be an absolute bonus.
Drew: Yeah. Definitely. I remember probably the first real time I come against it, apart from my own, I was working in Newcastle. There was a large gym down there. And the way it happened you joined up to the gym and you get a free session with a personal trainer. And I remember sitting in the gym, I was waiting for my client to show up and it was about 5 or 10 minutes past and I was thinking, “Well, you know I have been stood up (which is a common occurrence).” But I got a call from reception down from the front desk, “Your client is here you but she is not confident to come in. So can you come down and help her?”
So as I was walking down the front of the gym not really thinking anything of it this lady she is going to want a little bit of assistance. But when I go down the front of the gym, this lady was in hysterics. She was shaking uncontrollably. She was so scared of what was up there – how she perceived or how she was so scared of being judged or feeling of a shame, feeling of embarrassed. So that fear of the gym is real for a lot of people – 70% of my clients base all exercise at home. Now for different reasons but one of the main reasons is that fear of the gym. We all have that pre-conceived idea of what the gym is. It is gonna be full of people that are better than me, more physically attracted than me, they are gonna be judging me, I am gonna feel embarrassed, I am gonna feel ashamed, I am gonna feel not good enough. These are all stories we tell ourselves in our head. Because, like you said, you go to the gym you realize that 99% of people went to gym are wonderful people. Just like you can go anywhere and 99% of people are gonna be good. And you can go anywhere and 1% of people are gonna be dickheads. And that’s a same with gym, you know? There are those people but the majority of people in the gym are wonderful people. They are there to help themselves just like you are here to help yourself.
Now, situations are different. One person might be trying to lose weight, one person might be trying to put on muscle, one person might be trying to there is sports specific training or whatever is but everyone… the one thing that everyone has in common in every gym in the world is they are all there to improve themselves, and 99% of people of those people in there are willing to help you just because you want help from others everyone is feeling the same. So, when you start to realize that story that you are telling yourself is just a story you are telling yourself in your head, I often say that the hardest step to any journey is the first step. So if you get yourself in the gym, and realize that it is not the scary place it is actually a wonderful place then you have won there.
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Rod: Yeah. Certainly Mate. Some great points there. Just going back to the lady that you mentioned then – what sort of things we are able to encourage to work beyond that to take a first step and come and saw the gym and give it a crack?
Drew: Yeah. Definitely. So, as I mentioned, I got down there this lady is in stair. She was shaking, she was a mid 40’s lady, she was overweight, she had been through the gym a couple of times in her younger years but she had kids, she works full time, life happens, she has ends up putting on weight. So, the situation in which she is I quickly… As we speak this afternoon and show will come up… I am massive massive believer that it’s 80% mindset and 20% mechanics. So, I have a strong focus on the psychology of fitness when I work with my clients; because, I know it is 80%.
So, what I did was I got inside her head. I found out what are her fears. You know because that’s what happen with anxiety, right? Anxiety is you are scared or you are building this massive picture. You are building this massive wall and that massive wall is nothing but the massive wall is just a tiny little step you know get inside. But she, in her head, was making it bigger and bigger and bigger and turning into a massive goal that no way she can get over. And that’s what causing this emotional event.
All I did was, number 1, I got to the bottom of what she was fearful and it was being judged. We all have that fear, you know? Some people have it more than others but we all… None of us wanna be judged because if we feel like we are being judged then we fell like often that we are not good enough or being inadequate or that’s gonna make us feel embarrassed and all these painful feelings. So, she was literally physically stuck because she is so fearful of all of these negative feelings.
So, all I did was you know ease her pain. Tell her that up in the gym it’s nothing like you have been. Believe me. Trust me. So what I did was for the first 5 to 10 minutes was build rapport; because, if you don’t have rapport of someone then you can’t expect to help change them. So, I built some wonderful rapport to made her see that it is not like that. If you trust me, if you just come up, and have a little look around, we don’t have to do anything, no one is gonna look, everyone is there to improve themselves that little speech that I gave you before, And she got to the point where she trusted me. Just like I could go up and it is down to someone on the street right now and say, “You know buy my iPhone for $1000.” You know they are not going to buy because they don’t trust me. But if I send it to my brother or to my mum, because they trust me, they are willing to listen to me. So that what you have to do when you truly wanna help someone, you build that rapport, get their trust and then you can lead them in the right direction. So that’s what I did: I build the rapport, I build the trust, I lead her out there, and I slowly made her realize that it is not that much of a scary place. We didn’t have much of the workout but it was more so that just getting over that massive wall she was building, and breaking it down and making her realize that the gym isn’t a scary place.
Rod: Now that’s superb. Well done mate. Well done. And very very delicate situation there like you worked through and got it going which is superb.
Drew: Yeah. I often say being a personal trainer is probably 50% fitness, 50% counseling. And it really is.
Rod: Yeah. I think you are spot on. Well done. What would be top 3 things that someone should know in order to get them most out of their coaching when they are starting out?
Drew: Yeah. Number 1, you got to be ready to commit. Action to change comes from when you reach emotional threshold. So, a lot of people… they are not forced into action until something happen. So for a lady who wants to lose weight, she will simply buy bigger clothes, she will hide her weight and then she will go to a friend’s BBQ, photo will be taken, Monday comes around, the friend uploads that photo to Facebook and she is like, “Oh my god! Do I actually look like that?” And then that forces her to sign up to a program. The same things with guys, you know? You could be going fine, just wear baggy t-shirt but then someone will say, “Oh you are looking skinny or you have put on a bit of weight”. And that makes you feeling embarrassed once again it’s those painful emotions and then forces you to into change. So, number 1, you got to be ready to commit. That’s the big thing. If you are not ready to commit, really give it your all, then as soon as things get tough you are going to quit. So, number 1 is you have to be ready to commit.
Number 2 is you have to expect that it is not gonna be easy. We live in a world now where everything on a daily basis is becoming easier for us. We used to have to hunt and gather our food and now I could ring Domino’s and it will be here within 20 minutes. You only have to pay $3 whatever it is. So food comes to us now. I could order shoes from America today and that will be here in 3 days. The world has never been so easy for us and it is only going to get easier. But in terms of our fitness, in terms of our health, we have to understand that and there is no magic pill yet. Now, I am sure in the future there will be a magic pill but for now there is no magic pill. So if you want to lose weight, you got to expect that there is gonna be good weeks and bad weeks. If you want to get fit for sport, you got to be expecting that it is not going to be easy. You are going to have set backs. You are going to have good times bad times good weeks bad weeks. You are going to have times where the kids are going crazy and you are supposed to train and you are stressed out of your mind or you get fired or whatever it is, you have to expect there is going to be set backs. I am feeling like too many people just expect a smooth ride and as soon as they come up against a little bit of resistance it is too much for them; because, they just won’t expecting it.
And then number 3 is if you are not mentally prepared then you will never be physically ready. You do mountain biking. If you are pushing and pushing and pushing you are going to get tired and everyone is going to go past you whatever it is, but if you don’t have that mental that urge that relentless that desire to keep going, if you are not mentally prepared, as soon as times get tough, once again, you are just going to give up. Because, as I mentioned before I truly believe it is 80% psychology and 20% mechanics. If you are only focusing on the mechanics then you are just doing yourself a massive dis-service.
So yeah my top 3 things will be:
You have to be ready to commit
You have to expect setback
And you need to be mentally ready or otherwise you will never be physically prepared.
Rod: Yeah. I think you spot on mate. That mindset issue was that’s an important one and such a powerful one. Yeah as you said you come up against a wall and we all come up against different walls at different points in our life and in our day. It is understanding what that is and how to go through it, understanding yourself, and to keep moving through, and looking at that end goal and it might be a long way down the track. Like you said, health and fitness it is not a magic pill. It is not an overnight quick fix. There is no such thing today. So, understanding what’s your end goal is or your ‘why’ – if we can call it that – ’why’ you are doing what you are doing and get your eyes on prize and keep moving forward.
Drew: Definitely. I love what you have said – the ‘why’. The ‘why’ has to come before the ‘how’. Everyone just jumps in and tries to do before they plan. So, you need to know your ‘why’ before the ‘how’ or the ‘what’. And I just like to… a big thing in mind is modeling success but whatever you want to achieve in your life look someone has done it before unless you are creating a new business that’s a startup and that’s brand new and no one knows what the hell it is yet. But whatever outcome you want someone has done it thousands or millions of people have done it whether it is losing weight, whether it is becoming a world champion, whether it is getting the job, starting a business – there are so many success stories before you. So, what you should do is model that success. Search for people that have done what you want to do and understand how they did it, why they did it – look for the beliefs. Michael Jordan calling to be a wonderful Basketball player or the best Basketball player in world, I would look at Michael Jordan and I will be like “All right. What are his beliefs? What are his values? What are the setbacks? Why did he do? What he do?” And then you start to see it is the mindset, it’s the training against everything else. I guarantee that there are going to be patterns. For me, I am so focused on building my business. So, I read books from successful business people and I start to look for patterns and of course there are definite patterns. So, all I have to do is model those patterns as good as possible and that gives me the best possible chance of achieving the outcome I desire.
Rod: Terrific. You are spot on there mate. Mate someone who has had a bit of a health scare like you said a bit of embarrassing situation – they wanna get started. You mentioned mindset that’s you got to have your eye on the prize. What would you say would be the best way to someone to really kick it off?
Drew: Yeah. So number 1, understand your Why. Definitely. You need to find your Why. Because as we mentioned, as soon as times get tough, you are going to quit. So if you don’t truly know why you want to do this, then you are just not going to follow through. Especially for me and majority of my business is weight loss, and nearly every women in the world, or not nearly every women in the world, but a lot of women are yo-yo dieters. They have tried everything to lose weight. Now there are multiple reasons in terms of the biology and the strategic weight loss attempt. But if you don’t understand why truly want to do something then you are not going to continue to push on. So, the first thing is understand your why.
The second thing is learn the How. So, make sure that your actual strategy is correct; because, if you don’t have the correct strategy you can have all the motivation in the world but if you simply not doing it correctly then there is no point. It is like me trying to dig a hole through concrete. If I just continue to dig my hole through concrete, I might be so motivated to dig to China, but I am not going to get anywhere. I should just take a step to my left where it is turf and then I give myself a better chance. So you are going to have to correct strategy.
And then number 3 is you have to take enough action, you know? And that’s probably thing. A lot of people struggle with motivation but most people struggle with taking enough action. And that comes from motivation but I am sure Michael Jordan or any of these wonderful success stories that would have been the first ones in training and they would have been the last ones home. They would have been the ones out there riding when it is 10 degree outside and pouring down rain; they are ones when everyone else is at home having a day off. They are the ones getting up at 5 am every single day when the next person is only doing a 4-days a week because they are tired. So, you have to your why, your mindset, you need to have the right strategy so you are doing things correctly but then you need to follow that up by taking enough action to create those results you desire.
Rod: Yeah. Certainly you are spot on mate. I think even for myself I have considered myself a pretty positive, pretty motivated sort of guy but it doesn’t look like that every single day. There are some days you think this is “I might just have a sleep in. Or I might just give it a miss.” But as soon as I focused on my why – why do I do what I do, why do I exercise, what do I eat and why I do – it pulls me back in line, I know where I am going and it all just clicks. That’s a really powerful thing for me. And everyone has got their own why, their own reason for weight loss, self improvement, whatever it is and it is so so important.
Drew: Yeah. Definitely. So, I am big believer in power of asking yourself a good questions. So for me at the moment, I am really focused on building my business. So, we have come along in the last 18 months but my goals – I am probably half a percent towards my goals.
So, every morning I set my alarm to 4:30, I give myself the permission to sleep until 6:30. But every morning I am going to set my alarm to 4:30. I am going to ask myself one question… Now I am allowed to sleep until 6:30 or I can get up. Now that one question is: Is there a chance that there is someone in the world that wants exactly what you want that is getting up right now?” And of course the answer is yes. So the answer is yes. So I will ask myself that question and the answer is yes. Now, I have given myself permission to sleep for another 2 hours but if there is someone else out there in the world that wants what I want – wants to build a business just like mine – and they are getting up at this time, then I am doing myself a massive disservice by continuously then I’m just being lazy. I am letting myself down; I am letting my wife down; I am letting my son down, my family down, my employees down, I am letting everyone down but most of all I am letting myself down. So, if you can find a really really powerful question or question that you ask yourself then it is so so powerful.
Rod: You are spot on. Well done. Well done mate. And this will vary for everyone – everyone is unique. But how long does it take for someone to get some real benefit out of fitness coaching?
Drew: Number 1, it totally depends on the coach, of course. But I would say immediately. There are so many strategies that… as I have mentioned, we believe, myself, I am a massive believer that it is 80% psychology so of course that build us down throughout in my coaches. I have a coaching team of 6 and it is our mantra: it is all about psychology first and then it is about the action. So for us, I mean you can make huge breakthroughs in one session with someone when you are talking about the psychology – when you are breaking down those limiting beliefs. Someone, for us, that’s a woman who has tried to lose weight 20 times before and failed every time. So she comes to us and she wants to lose weight desperately and she truly does but she has that little voice in her head that isn’t a little voice anymore, it is on a loud speaker, saying “There is no point, you are just gonna fail anyway.” And as soon as times get tough that voice just goes too loud and she will give up, you know? And when is that tough time? That could be Saturday afternoon to friends BBQ, she said she is gonna be good, I am going to stick to my diet but there is all the sausages and there is the steak and pasta salad and all the good stuff… Maybe being good old wee, I am just gonna have the little bit and the little bit turns into a lot of bit. And then that little voice goes “You have stuffed it now. You have stuffed it so let’s just give up.” That one little meal turns into a Sunday as well then turns into, “I am not going to train in this week. I am not gonna do anything.” And that leads to giving up and that leads that repeat cycle.
So, for us how quickly can you get results? I would say if your coach is good enough you can get them immediately. They have to understand number 1 – they get to know you that build that rapport. They understand what you want and what results you want and why you want it. And then they help you build a little bit of leverage to turn that want into a must. And then they help you overcome whatever limiting beliefs you have about whether you can achieve that goal or not. So, for me say I truly do wanna become the number 1 fitness and health educator in the world. Now, I might have some limiting beliefs like I don’t have a uni degree. I am not a doctor. I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist. I am not a dietitian. So I might have those beliefs but if I let those beliefs hold me back then I am never ever going to achieve. In fact all of us, whatever our goal is we most likely have some beliefs that are holding us back. So good coach will let you kind of sever those beliefs and then you can truly just instead of trying to work forward at a slow pace towards, you are goal you are going to be able to sprint towards your goal.
Rod: Mate that’s superb. Well done. Well done. In what position does someone need to be in to really want to start improving their health with fitness coaching?
Drew: I mean I believe you could be in any position. Number 1 – as you mentioned before about goals – goals are hugely hugely important. If you don’t have a goal, then you are kind of shooting blind. I like to give the analogy of who is going to be more motivated? There is two people stuck swimming in the middle of the ocean. Now, I will tell them both that land is maybe 20 km away or something like that or we tell them that there is a deserted or island somewhere. So the person A start swimming and he can’t see the island. He doesn’t know where he is swimming, doesn’t know if he is going to the right way or the wrong way. And of course if you swim swim swim and you look up and you can’t see where you are going, of course you are going to start to lose motivation.
Where the second person, he can see the island so he is moving. He knows he is going into right direction. And every time he put his head up, the island gets a little bigger, and a little bigger, and a little bigger. So the more he goes towards it, the motivation increases increases increases increases increases. So the number 1 most important thing is you need to know your goal. You need to know outcome you are trying to achieve just like I gave you an arrow and told you to shoot it, you are gonna say “All right Drew. What the hell I am shooting at?” But if I said, “Rod, here is the arrow and over there on that tree, there is the target.” You are gonna be like awesome. Shoot straight towards a target. So you can be in any position but you got to know what goal you are trying to achieve because without that then you don’t know what to do. You don’t know your why, you don’t know your strategy, and you don’t know what action to take. It could just be, once again, digging a hole in cement. So yeah once again you can in any position but number 1 most important thing is you have to know your goal and then you have to… once again, you know why you want to achieve your goal, and then you can make a strategy and then you could take your action toward achieving it.
Rod: Yeah. Terrific. Good Mate. You mentioned before the example that you gave that the poor lady stuck at reception in the gym having trouble getting started, do you have other few examples? I know you have got a number of testimonials on your website there of other people who have been through your coaching and got at the other side and its turned their life around?
Drew: Obviously, because we have large member backs. We have huge amount of success stories which is why my team and I do this. That’s why we are here. We are here to get results for our client. But we have members who lose 50 kilos. We have members who lose 30 kilos, 20 kilos. We have had a member who just recently – forget what half marathon it was but she went from basically could barely walk from the car to home out of a driveway, she’d puffed. She just completed a half marathon.
Rod: Awesome.
Drew: And then so the physical side of thing is wonderful. So, majority of our clients are there to lose weight but weight loss is the journey it is not the destination.
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Rod: You bet.
Drew: The same with anything… Like with your race, the race is the journey but everyone is trying to get to a finish line and then who wanna get to the finish line; because, it is gonna make us feel in a certain way. It is going to make us feel accomplished. It is gonna make us feel good. It is going to make us feel proud. So in the end we all want to lose weight or get fit or whatever it is because we feel that doing this is going to change the way we feel about ourselves in that situation. So, the physical transformation is wonderful because that’s what we can see. But we only want that physical transformation so we have the internal transformation.
So for me, the biggest stories for us the woman that starts depressed or suffering severe anxiety and we changed them. So we are not just changing their physical body which is wonderful, of course, but we are changing their daily level of happiness, their confidence and self esteem, and their self belief, their emotional well-being. For me that is the most rewarding thing because I understand that what create us as people. You know what is a great and physical transformation is wonderful but in the end where it’s what in us that makes us. So if we can transform someone internally then that is the greatest achievement we could ever make.
Rod: Yeah. Well done mate. Terrific. Mate, if you had a secret about fitness coaching what would it be?
Drew: Yeah, the fact that there is no secret. And the one that told you there is a secret is just trying to get your money. So, I don’t speak on the fitness industry because I think every industry is like this but 90% of people are here to earn money and they don’t necessarily have your best interest at heart, you know? Every time I go to the gym they have fitness info-mercials on and you see it: buy this machine or 5 of payment of $49.95 and in just 7 minutes a day with no sweat and no diet and just put it under your bed after you are done with it that you can lose 20 kilos in 2 months or something like that. And they have that visual where the ladies on the machine and within 3 seconds she loses the 20 kilos and she has got these buns and she has got that nice legs, and the nice and the arms, and the nice belly, and now she is gonna has got a tan…
Rod: Exactly. Terrible.
Drew: I don’t think people are out to hurt anyone or would hope people aren’t out to rip people off but I truly not believe that but you got to understand that people are out to make money. And they don’t necessarily have anyone’s best interest at heart.
So, the secret would be do your own research; because, that is the main thing. Everyone is going to tell you their opinions especially with fitness; because, fitness is not like physics or maths where… Fitness is it’s our human body. Every single person has their experience. Everyone has put on weight, everyone has lost weight, and everyone is trying to get fit. So everyone has their own opinion. It doesn’t mean that their opinion is qualified. But what I would say is: Do your own research which most people don’t because everyone wants the easy answer, right? Everyone just want the magic pill. And as I have mentioned before, there is no magic pill. So, I would say what you could do to save yourself time and money, I wouldn’t say heart ache that pain or just getting your hopes up and then being let down is do your own research first and come to your own conclusions and don’t just believe what you hear from all of these so called experts.
Rod: No, I think you are spot on. And also your approach – which is a tailored approach to suit each individual rather than just a one size fits all course or program – is a far more effective way of getting real results rather than the poor person ending up on a yo-yo.
Drew: Yeah. I mentioned before that a large majority of women and men are yo-yo dieters and there is multiple reasons for that. But the industry itself in terms of the diet industry or the fitness industry they are built on one size fits all. But just like I could line up a 100 people and I could see that they all people, they all have two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth but I can see that they are all individual people. They all have different voices. They are all of different heights, different sizes, and different faces. So that shows that they must bring a lot of individuality now because something like that on the outside it must be like that on the inside. And definitely most definitely we all have different generic makeup. We all have different genetic expression in terms of how our genes actually act. We all have different dieting experience which will have effects on how our body reacts to trying to lose weight and gain weight. We all have different energy homeostatic system. So how much our body likes to lose weight, store weight, gain weight, we all have different energy partitioning. So how our body actually uses the energy we eat from food. Some people just burn… We all know that person who is super skinny they can eat whatever they want and they never put on weight. Simply because whatever food they eat, their body uses their energy and all they get rid of it. And we all know that person who doesn’t matter what they do, they just can’t lose weight like that they can put on weight. That means that their body, it is not that their will power is weak or anything, it just means their biology, their body, simply likes to store energy as fat.
So, my little qualm with the industry is everyone tries to tell you that it is just calories. If you are concerned about losing weight, the only thing people care about is calories i.e. “How many calories is in this? How many calories is in that? How many calories should I have in a diet?” You got to understand that calories is simply a unit of energy which is important that’s kind of the quantity of energy but the quality of energy is just as important; because, a calorie does not measure the effect that calorie has on the human body. So, if we were just concerned about calories then I could easily say that by 100 calories from a can of coke is better for you than a 120 calories from a chicken breast which is of course is preposterous.
I think people have to start to understand the complexity of the issue in terms of fitness which is extremely complex. I am still trying to my head around and I read 5 books a week. And once we understand it then we can truly find a solution.
Rod: That’s terrific. I think your calorie example is a very very good. It is something that perhaps years gone by was really the Bible for weight loss, as we know now, that’s changed enormously and the science is there to prove it and so it is a very good point to make.
Drew: Yeah. I am a big science nerd because I just like to base my program on what’s been proven. But I also know that basically whatever science says today, in 20 years that’s going to be disapproved. So, science is wonderful and there are people spend millions and millions of dollars finding the true answers but we also have to understand that we are all humans and we don’t know all the answers and look at all the times we have stuffed ourselves and we will continue to do it.
So, but it is a very, in terms of getting to the optimal fitness levels or losing weight or whatever your goal is with your body understand that there are multiple systems within your body that are all being impacted, that all have a control in aspect to your overall results. And when you try and learn the all that’s when you can truly start to get good results for yourself.
Rod: Yeah. Certainly. Well done mate. What are some of the common problems that some of your clients face when they are starting out a new fitness program?
Drew: Yeah. So number 1 would be they underestimate the power of their environment. I think that we definitely try to… We are wonderful planers and terrible action taker. So I think most people think that they can just control their environment and very quickly they find out they can’t. Let’s use an example of someone starting a fitness plan. Their family isn’t starting a fitness plan. Their family loves steak and pasta for dinner and now I can’t have steak and pasta. I have to have my chicken breast and salad. No one else want to eat that, it is just you. So, now every meal, in the sense you have to ostracize from everyone. And you are planning to eat well at work but you get Mondays all good, Tuesdays all good, and then Wednesday then it is Debbie’s birthday and the chocolate cake comes out and you have to say no to the chocolate cake. Even now you look at it and it is calling your name, and then you get home and when you get home and your having whatever it is maybe it is a chicken breast or maybe another chicken salad whatever it is… it just a terrible diet don’t just eat chicken and salad. But you open the fridge and there is two packets of Tim Tams and there is some chocolate and there is some chocolate milk, and there is some orange juice. So you are constantly using your will power to say to no to everything; because, we don’t live in an optimally health world.
We live in a world of abundance. Drive down any street you see McDonald’s and KFC. You go… man ever at petrol station now… Like you are going to pay for your petrol and what is everywhere? Like junk is everywhere. So we are all using our will power to say no to things. That’s why when I say that active restriction, in terms of diet – saying no to your favorite food – it doesn’t work because of will power.
So, will power is a wonderful thing but it is not an energy source that will last very long. So, basically will power works on glucose, so it works literally… I always wonder what is will power? I always here about this energy source of will power it is actually glucose. We run out of glucose throughout the day because we are using our will power so much. So if you are always relying on using your will power, I guarantee you might go good in the morning, you might go good in the afternoon, when you come home it is just you are going crazy although, you go crazy. So that’s why you have to set yourself up with a plan that is perfect for your lifestyle.
And that’s where we get back to personalized plan. Yeah if you are following something that your mate is following it doesn’t mean it is perfect for you. Because you don’t have kids. He works 10 hours of week a day. You work 6 hours a day. He does this. You do this. You do this. You do this. You do this. What you need a plan that works for us. In my opinion, where we are it is the big step forward in the industry is getting a plan that truly works for you and then not just that is understanding that the metabolism is an ever changing system. Metabolism is not: here is your plan, follow up to 12-weeks you are gonna be all good. We all have been through that plateau that saying that if not broken don’t fix it. So whatever I am doing to get results, if I am getting results I am not going any different. I am going to stick on this.
But we all know you get to the point where it doesn’t work anymore and then we all start to freak out the results aren’t coming, motivation drops, motivation drops, and we start taking a less action. When we start taking less action, we are getting in worse results. Motivation stops, our action stop, we go back to the starting line, and then in 6 months time we start again. So, that’s why you need a plan that works for you, that’s perfectly tailored for you so you don’t stuck in that loop where you are starting over, quitting, starting over, and quitting again.
Rod: Yeah. Superb. Mate some great advice there. And where can people find some more information about fitness coaching and also yourself Drew?
Drew: Yes. I mean generally fitness coaching is… Look we live in a wonderful world where you can ask any question to our friend, Google, and you will get a 100,000 answers in the space of 0.01 seconds, you know? One of the wonderful things about the internet is every answer you seek is out there. So that’s great. So that’s why you don’t have to pay anyone to guide you. If you want a guide, wonderful. But you go to any gym and 2% of the people in the gym have a person trainer, so you don’t need that. Now if you want it, if you feel like you need it those services are there. But I want everyone to understand that you don’t need it because all of the answers are there. You can do it on your own it is just some people do want help with it.
And in terms of my services, yeah go to www.drewbraidfitness.com or head to our Facebook page Drew Baird Fitness our Facebook page that’s where we interact with everyone. We post as much as possible. So, if you want to start that conversation with us then that’s where you can find us.
Rod: Terrific. Mate that’s superb. You have passed some great information there. I am sure listeners will get a lot out of it. And again thank you for your time. We had a great chat and look forward to catch you up again some other time.
Drew: No worries Rod. Thanks for having me.
Rod: Thank you mate
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About The Author
Rod Bucton, mountain bike fanatic from Mid North Coast, New South Wales Australia… helping middle aged men improve their lives with exercise, good nutrition and good health and while you’re at it follow Rod on Facebook or Instagram.
Like any sport, bicycling involves risk of injury and damage. By choosing to ride a bicycle, you assume the responsibility for that risk, so you need to know — and to practice — the rules of safe and responsible riding and of proper use and maintenance. Proper use and maintenance of your bicycle reduces risk of injury.
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