As the weather starts to get warmer, and people start to prepare for a summer holiday, our lives as personal trainers become a whole lot busier.  I call these clients "Fix me please" clients. 

No surprises there right?

Here's where it all gets very interesting!

But here is where it all gets interesting.  Most people in Australia take their annual leave around Xmas and New Years.  Almost all of those people will fall into the "Fix me please" category, and a large percentage of the "Fix me please" group fall into the "Oh my God I'm an elephant and I need your help quick!!!!" category.

"Oh my God I'm an elephant and I need your help quick please!!!!"

It's this group that's most concerning to us personal trainers.

So many people fall into this category, and in doing so try to lose an incredible amount of weight over a ridiculously short period of time.  All too often do I talk to people who have a desire to lose weight only a matter of weeks before leaving on a summer holiday.

Not only is it unhealthy to lose too much weight too soon, but it's almost guaranteed that any weight lost will eventually creep back on and chances are next summer I will be seeing those exact same people again.

Why not try to lose that weight now?

So why not try to lose that weight now?  Regular exercise and a well balanced eating plan can result in a healthy weight loss of between 1-1.5kg per week.  That means that between now and Xmas time it's possible to lose between 16 and 24kg.

What's your plan?

Are you part of the "Oh my God I'm an elephant and I need your help quick!!!" group.  If so then why not start getting ready now for a trim and "Chisel-ed" summer holiday.  Not only is it the healthy option, but you'll also be able to carry that weight loss well into 2009 and beyond.

Cheers

Chris van Hoof
Chisel Fitness Director and Head Trainer

Ben's client...

I have been training a client four times a week for a month now, as she tries to kick her filthy dirty smoking habit to the curb after 25 years. The training is giving her something to focus on while she attempts to stop for the fourth time.

After 2 sessions of training she mentions another goal -to drop 10kgs of weight (in 4 weeks). She told me - 

'My diet is just fine and you don’t need to look at it.  The exercise will take care of it’. 

After 5 sessions she asked -

‘Why isn’t the weight dropping off now that I am training like an athlete?’

Just exactly what ARE you eating???

After convincing her to do a 5 day food diary, we very quickly worked out that her diet was absolutely appalling and it had to change dramatically if she were to change shape at all.  I explained to her that by her quitting cold turkey, she needed to look from the inside-out if this was going to succeed. 

2 weeks later, the diet has improved a great deal. She feels much better, especially during our sessions and is starting to look better for it too, after only 3 weeks.

And then... 

Then she starts to slip up with the smoking and begins taking Zyban pills, ‘because it worked for a friend’.

On the 2nd day of taking them, she becomes extremely cranky, her husband and work colleagues advise her to stop taking them.

After 3 days she loses her appetite completely, starts getting headaches and a dry mouth.

By the 4th day she starts doing weird things like not finishing conversations with people, develops blurred vision and starts getting panic attacks with an increased heart beat before finally going to the doctor that afternoon.

He prescribes Valium and sends her on her way. She didn’t take them but also stopped taking the pills.

Don't believe the hype! 

How many times do you read or hear about new celebrity diets, quick fixes or 6, 9 15 sec abdominal routines?

It is unbelievable that people actually think that these things are going to work. Magazines and other companies actually pay celebrities to put on weight, lose it, and then promote some new product or diet that has just come out!

If hitting your health and fitness goals - whether it be to quit smoking, lose 10 kg, increase your fitness for a 10km run or get back from injury - were as easy as popping a pill, everybody would be doing it and nobody would ever exercise! We would all be at the pub or bakery eating lamingtons.

Take your time...it's worth it 

Goals take time to achieve.

Make sure you have a plan of attack with both short and long term goals, reassessing as you go along.

The weight or body fat you are trying to lose didn’t just jump around your waist while you were asleep one night, and its sure not going to rinse off in the shower either. It takes time and hard work. Every workout you do, is making you stronger, fitter and healthier then the last, just remember that.

The only place ‘success’ comes before ‘work’ is in the dictionary.

Cheers,

Ben Thomas
Chisel Fitness Trainer and CHEK Specialist

David and Alison from Fruit and More kindly offered to give all Chisel Fitness customers a 10% discount off your first box of fresh fruit and vegetables. 


Just mention Chisel Fitness when placing your order and enjoy the taste of the quality produce that David and Alison deliver right to your door.

Enjoy

Chris van Hoof
Chisel Fitness Director and Head Personal Trainer

Although many people assume they are consuming enough vegetables in their diet they are often not even getting half of what they need.  And the vegetables and fruit that they do eat are often the same thing every day, which means they may be lacking in specific nutrients!

That's why I'm writing today to let you know about a local Gold Coast business that is here to help.

Fruit and More is a whole new concept in fresh fruit and vegetable home delivery on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Fresh fruit and vegetables, direct from the markets, are available to homes in and around the south Gold Coast and are delivered straight to your door!

I tried a box of fruit and vegetables from Alison and David last week and I can say that it was some of the freshest and tastiest produce I have had.  It definitely beats the stuff I usually buy from the supermarket and this is because Alison and David take special care to ensure all their produce is fresh and in season.

So check them out and give Fruit and More a go.

Cheers,

Chris van Hoof
Chisel Fitness Director and Head Trainer

What the readers of this blog might not realise is that I have returned from my honeymoon just in time. 

You see whilst it might appear that the Sinclair family are highly motivated by individual and collective goals, the one thing that really gets them out of the house and to my training sessions is the time away from Brendon and his absolutely hilarious sense of humour. 

Sure it's funny every now and again but laughing 24 hours a day and living with perhaps the funniest man to ever walk the earth would be nothing but pure pain on your abdominals and cheek muscles.

Like I said....I returned just in time....it was only a matter of days before Brendon would have decided to use this blog as his platform for comedy. 

Thanks again Brendon - at ease soldier...you job here is done!

My Beautiful Bride

And so here's a photo of Joanne and I on our happy day.  Jamie McAllister took all the photos for us....a champion bloke with a really professional business.  Thanks Jamie!!!

It was great fun to have lot's of family and friends to share the big day with and we made the most of the honeymoon, eating great food and drinking nice wine through McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley.

Time to get back into it!!

And so as a result it's time to get that fitness ball rolling again.

Now that there is no wedding to plan I have more time to bring you the best in fitness and nutritional advice to help you achieve your goals in the lead up to summer. 

Keep an eye on the site for more updates as the Chisel Fitness team work overtime to bring you the latest and most accurate information on all things health and fitness. 

If you haven't done so already sign up for our monthly newsletter for regular health and fitness tips, as well as recipes and information from our nutritionist Amanda van Eyk.

Cheers,

Chris van Hoof
Chisel Fitness Director and Head Trainer

The weather is perfect here on the Gold Coast and the mornings have been great.

Today's story is about 15 yo Gold Coast kid Jack Sinclair. Jack is the guy being trained by Chisel Fitness for his cycle across Australia. That's 4,500 kms in 30 days.

Jack's 15. He's gets up at 5.30 6 mornings a week to train.

He's motivated and trains with joy.

And here's a story that explains the reason why.

Date: March 14, 2008
Time: 6.15 am
Place: Currumbin Beach boardwalk
Activity: Training run under the supervision of Chisel Fitness guru Chris van Hoof.

I'm Jack's dad and we're running together.

I don't think he's running fast enough. So, being a typical idiot Australian man, say "C'mon Jack! Run faster. Get going!"

1. He stops in his tracks.
2. He puts his hands up.

"Chris doesn't say that to me dad. Chris encourages me."

Mmmmmmmmmm.

That right there is a big part of the reason Jack has maintained his training and gotten himself into a position to cycle 4,500 kms.

You see, using a personal trainer has as much to do with how they do it, as well as what they do.

Use a personal trainer like Chisel because, like Jack, they:

• Keep you motivated
• Keep it positive
• Keep it fun
• Keep it varied
• Keep it interesting
• Keep you going
  

There's no way a gym can offer anywhere near the benefits of a personal trainer. It's that simple.

Cheers

Brendon

Okay, now we're onto Laura, my 17 yo daughter.

Let's talk about why you should use a personal trainer - and let's use Laura as today's guinea pig!

It's the same old story. Laura heard what great fun the rest of us were having at the training sessions and started coming along at 6 in the morning.

The story so far is pretty damn impressive if you know Laura!

Campaigned To Have Mornings Banned

This is a girl who struggles to open her eyes of a morning and has actively campaigned to have mornings banned, stating they are (and I quote) "An affront to all normal people who like sleeping."

So she now trains twice a week at 6am.

Because Chris knew she was a precious little thing early in the mornings, he'd take it nice and slow with her to start off.

Gentle exercise, gently done. Then some hills. And hard strength stuff.

Before Laura was fully awake each Monday and Thursday she'd done an hour of solid exercise!

Laura's First Goal

So Laura's goal was to train for her first fun run - a 5 km fun run in NSW (the same one her mum did).

So Chris sets up her program to get her legs strong and to have some distance in them.

Laura had done the training and was feeling fit and raring to go when she stepped up to the starting line.

Chris Assured Her She'll be Fine

Because Chris has assured her she'd be fine, Laura just relaxed on the morning of the race and set off at her own pace.

It wasn't really a race, after all she'd run 5 km twice a week for a few months now. No drama, she just had to finish.

And finish she did. As the winner of her Age Group. She then insisted that the winner gets a Foot Bath and Massage! See below for proof.

With the Gold Medal dangling round her neck she was a proud lass.

Then came school hockey.

Look, Laura has never been what you'd call the world's greatest hockey player. Sure, she's the world's loviest girl (she'll be reading this and I'm her dad. I have a legal and moral obligation to say that!).

She's played for close on 8 years now and enjoys her hockey (how nice did I say that!). Not the greatest, not the worst.

A Funny Thing Happens

But a funny thing happens when you exercise consistently. You get fit.

Then you can actually do things that you couldn't do before.

• You can make that shot.
• You can run down that attacker.
• You can still be running hard and getting to balls when everyone else has slowed.

When it came time to announce the Best & Fairest for the school mixed hockey team it was 1 proud Laura who stepped up as the winner. Yep, beat the boys and all.

All down to fitness. All down to consistent effort.

All down to Chris and his team's ability to tailor make their program on the fly to meet the rapidly changing needs of 17 yo sleepy girls so that they keep turning up week after week.

Biggest Multi-Sport Event

The southern hemisphere's biggest multi-sport event in the Noosa Triathlon.

Some 5,000 competitors take on the grueling race each year.

Laura is there as the runner in our team. A huge bustling crowd of runners there with Laura happily running along without a care in the world.

And she doesn't have a care in the world (that's her fooling around in bthe bike area with her brother before the race) when she's running because she knows a few things:

• she knows she can make the distance
• she knows the running is great for her
• she knows it doesn't matter if you win or lose as long as you enjoy yourself
• she knows she gets a bag of goodies when we enter (including a very cool over the shoulder bag last year!)

The Best Thing About Laura Exercising

One of the best things about Laura exercising regularly is that now a few of her mates have joined in.

They get up before the sun twice a week, jump in the car and meet the sunrise and Chris at Currumbin Beach for a brilliant, healthy and perfect start to the day.

That's A Long Story - Get To The Point

Okay, the point is this.

Training with a personal trainer works because you train very specifically to meet your exact goals.

• Want to lose 20 kgs, train specifically for that.
• Want to tone up without getting muscly - train for that.
• Want to run 10 km - train specifically for that.

Leaving aside the usual stuff about how a personal trainer personalises your program, the key for Laura has been the consistency and specific training.

Is that what could be right for you?

Cheers

Brendon

P.S: Okay, let's try a short sharp post tomorrow. Otherwise I might just zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

This story is easy.

Blind Freddy could see why my 14 yo son Harry got motivated and so very keen to train up to 3 times a week with Chris and the guys from Chisel Fitness here on the Gold Coast.

This is how you do it:

• Take 1 young lad.
• Immerse him in a positive culture.
• Provide tons of positive feedback.
• Treat him with respect and understanding.
• Lead by example.

Started Running Twice A Week

Harry, like Mel , first started coming along to Chisel Fitness ' twice a week running sessions (on Monday and Friday) after Jack and I started talking about how challenging and fun they were.

As a 14 yo lad you can't have your 15 yo brother having all the fun, so Harry started coming along.

• He loved the runs.
• The fun, the camaraderie, the excitement.
• The being treated as an equal by such a positive group.
• He loved the whole trying to beat his brother thing.

You show me a 14 yo lad who doesn't like that stuff. Impossible.

I'd often see Chris running along with Harry through some of the hard bits. A question here, a joke there and before he knew it Harry was through the hardest session and a whole lot fitter!

He was none-the-wiser that old "Wise Owl Chris" has psyched him out again!

Harry Got A Goal

After a while Harry had a goal to work towards......... just like every one in the group did.

Funny that.

1. His first one was to do a 10 km run with me. Done.
   
2. Then it was to do the Gold Coast Half Marathon. Done.
3. Then a teacher at his school suggested the grueling Kokoda Trek challenge. Done.

When I was 14 the most exercise I ever got was jumping for joy when the bakery had fresh pies!

Harry was like me - but now he bounces up at 5.30 am ready for his hour running with Chris and the group (there are up to 10 others some days).

At 14 yo Harry's completed a Half Marathon and the 96 km Kokoda Trek - without question the hardest challenge I've ever seen (I was 1/2 of Harry's support crew).

That's him on the right at the end of the trek - 30 hours after he started this incredible walk. No sleep, just a hard, tough slog.

(Yes, I know he could do with a haircut......this is the fashion these days!) 

So let's get this back to Why You Should Use A Personal Trainer

Easy.

1. Different things motivate different people - a personal trainer can figure out what that is.
2. The very powerful benefit of a positive example.
3. Sense of commitment - you tell the trainer you'll be there, so you show up.
   

Sure, that's only 3 reasons. Add those to the 7 reasons to use a personal trainer here and we're up to 10!

This Has Nothing To Do With Fitness

What The Chisel Fitness guys have taught Harry has nothing to do with fitness.

• Or running.
• Or bushwalking.
• Or health.

It's about choices.

It's about goal setting.

It's about what you can achieve when you persevere.

The greatest gift the team have given him is the understanding that when things get tough, you just have to keep slogging through and you'll get there.

Whether that's cleaning up the backyard, doing a degree, or running a marathon.

Prepare right, do the training, persevere and you'll succeed. Every single time.

Not a bad lesson for a 14 yo kid to learn.

Cheers

Brendon

P.S: Tomorrow we'll talk about how an (forgive me Laura!) an un-athletically inclined 17 yo girl won a 5 km fun run, her school's best and fairest award in inter-school hockey and competes in the southern hemisphere's biggest multi-sport event with a smile on her face and not a care in the world.

I think the best illustration of why you should use a personal trainer is contained in the story of my family.

You see, 9 months ago or so my 15 yo son Jack and I started training with Chris (that's Chris above smiling challenging Jack to knock his head off!).

Jack and I are cycling across Australia in September and even though I was very confident that a fat, unfit 41 yo stupid Australian male could cycle 4,500 kms in 30 days, my wife didn't agree.

She insisted, as wives sometimes do, that she didn't want to be a widow just yet. She offered to pay for Chris' training with my Life Insurance payments.

Yep, she was hedging her bets!

The Reason I Have A Secret $$$ Stash

(When Chris heard we were cycling for charity he came on board with free sessions amongst other things - this is the reason I have quite a healthy secret $$$ stash that my wife doesn't know about!)

Anyway, Jack and I started training - 2 hard running sessions a week, along with 1 session of strength training.

We'd come back from training raving how Chris had us achieving way more than we ever thought. That seemed to get a bit of interest.

My Wife Came Along To Watch

One day my wife (Mel) came along to watch us train. We're talking about a 42 yo woman who had never done a day's exercise in her life and her idea of running was to run late.

In his friendly style, Chris encouraged Mel to join in the session - "Oh, I couldn't possibly do that. The guys will smash me and I'll feel silly."

After another 5 minutes of chatting Mel joined in.

Sure, she was a bit slow at first but she conquered every single barrier in front of her with training. Chris wrote about her climbing 1 mountain here.

Within 2 weeks she was attending both running sessions.

Within 4 weeks Mel had added a personal session with Chris.

Another 4 weeks later and Mel had organised a group of 10 or so friends who have a Girls Only session on Thursday morning.

Sneaks Along To Aaron's Sessions

She even sneaks along to Aaron's Wednesday boxercise sessions sometimes.

A little while after this Jack and I decided to do a fun run race down at Salt in Northern NSW. Mel came along and did the 5 km race.

She had just 2 goals:

1. Finish the race
2. Run the whole way
   

She powered through the run to finish in a touch over 25 minutes.

That's us on the right after the race.

Proudest Moment In Her Life

I asked her a few weeks back what the proudest moment in her life was, ever.

This is a woman who has:

• cared for the sick for 20 years as a Nursing Sister,
• runs a successful business,
• has 3 beautiful children - and one hell of a sexy husband ;o)

Her answer: Finishing the Salt 5 km run.

Amazing.

And it was all down to Chris and his extraordinary commitment to completely personalise and tailor make every single session for every single one of his clients.

A little birdie told me Chris takes an hour to prepare each session for each client. An hour!

I spend less time making major life changing decisions!

Mel's Answer Is Now Wrong

I assume Mel's answer is now wrong. Or out of date at least.

The reason is simple.

4 weeks ago (just 30 short weeks after starting with Chris), Mel ran the Gold Coast Half Marathon.

Not only is Mel fitter and healthier than she has ever been in her life, her confidence is sky high and she seems to be wanting to show her legs off more.

And because Mel is more conscious of her body and her health, she tends to eat a lot better. Which means the whole family eats better.

Why Use A Personal Trainer

Okay, I'm sure you've seen from the story of Mel many reasons why you should use a personal trainer.

Top 7 Reasons For Using A Personal Trainer

1. Completely personalised (absolutely essential)
   
2. Tailor made program
3. Incredible variety
4. Huge flexibility - don't feel like ab work today? No problem, let's go for a run.
5. Correct demonstration of exercises every step of the way
6. Keep motivated (none of this pay the membership and never turn up)
   
7. Incredible results (because you're doing everything right)

Change Your Life - Do Something

The transformation in Mel has been nothing less than amazing. She only has Chris and the team at Chisel to thank for that.

They really have changed her life.

As proof that Mel did the Gold Coast Half Marathon here's a photo below. See that kid with her. That's our 14 yo son Harry. He did the Half Marathon too.

His story, of how an unmotivated unfit, computer game playing kid got fit, excited and focused, is coming up next!

Cheers

Brendon

Brendon is my name and Chris here at Chisel Fitness on the Gold Coast is away for a week or more.

He's asked me to keep an eye on things around here and maybe write a post or 2.

Sure, selfish of him to take some time off I know, but we just might forgive him this time off!

You see, through some unknown force of nature he's convinced the beautiful, talented and just plain wonderful Joanne to be his bride.

The happy couple (deliriously happy is how you might describe Chris at the moment) tie the knot tomorrow, so he won't be checking this blog for over a week.

The Truth About Personal Trainers

You're about to get completely uncensored writing from a guy here to tell you the truth about personal trainers!

But where to start?

Well my old dad used to say, "Always start at the start", so that's good enough for me.

In my first official post tomorrow you'll learn why you should use a personal trainer (Hint: it can give you a better family!):

• how a 42 yo women who had never done a day's exercise in her life ran a Half Marathon,
• how a 14 yo boy became motivated, dedicated and even helpful around the house! (yes, I know, that one's hard to believe),
  
• why a 15 yo boy gets up at 5.30am 6 mornings a week to train for a challenge to help others,
• why a 17 yo girl, who had never run previously, won a 5 km fun run and is competing in her 2nd Noosa Triathlon in November,
• how a 41 yo fat bloke trained for a challenge he'd previously described as "Ha! I can't bloody well do that!",
• how the entire family learnt about goal setting, perseverance and dedication to be a better family.

Yep, I know. A big ask for a first post to tell you how to get a better family, but we may as well set the bar high.

After all, if you shoot for the moon and miss you will still be among the stars.

Or you may make a complete idiot of yourself. Let's take that chance because I'll only be here for a few days and we can all blame Chris!

Talk soon.

Brendon

The girls completed the challenge in 31 hours and 35 minutes, finishing at just after 2pm yesterday afternoon.  They started walking at 7am on Saturday morning.

I was involved in helping the girls out with support along the way and I have never seen anything like this event before.  Blisters, chaffing, fatigue and tears were all just a part of the journey and the girls should be extremely proud of what they have achieved.

It was a real inspiration to see them complete th 96km and says a lot about their mental strength, in an event where many of the people who started, didn't even make it to half way.

Girls you are an inspiration to us all and I hope that when the pain goes away you can sit back and feel warm and fuzzy about what you have just done.  WELL DONE!!!

The girls receiving some attention from The Gold Coast Bulletin

Look closely....the girls showing off their 'Witness the Fitness' shirts!

Cheers,

Chris van Hoof
Chisel Fitness Head Trainer

They have 39 hours to complete the walk, and are doing it to raise money for the Kokoda Challenge Youth Program - an early intervention program for young people from all walks of life which encourages them to learn the skills and values of discipline, tolerance, respect and self worth.

The girls have been training really hard for the trek, and we wish them all the best for their journey. 

Rip it up girls!!!

Cheers

Chris van Hoof
Chisel Fitness Head Trainer

But what about those people who can't even get out of bed, or those who dismiss the idea of exercise before even planning it through?

On Monday I had another new face out our morning running group.  For weeks, even months I have been trying to get this person along to join us.  And on Monday, after the run this is what she had to say...

"The only reason I came was because I took the time to plan out what exactly it was that I needed to do.  I set the alarm early, got my clothes ready, and I'm so glad that I did.  I think this will be the start of things for me..."

I double dare you...

Because she actually went through and planned her Monday morning, she was able to fit our exercise session in. 

The same can be said for people who go away on business trips or holidays. 

If you take time to plan things out, think about getting up early, or taking a change of clothes to work for a bit of after work activity.

By planning things, thinking things out and realising that it's possible, you are half way towards making that initial commitment. 

Good luck

Cheers,

Chris van Hoof
Chisel Fitness Head Trainer

Some competed in the 10km whilst others completed the 21.1km Half Marathon.  Despite the differences in distances and time, all of these people had one thing in common...

They all had faith in the process

Every one of those people who completed a run on the weekend was rewarded because they had faith in the process.

The process of tireless hours of training in the lead up to such an event.  The process of getting out of bed early in the cold, dark mornings to complete yet another training run.  The process of building a fitness base that they could call upon and test on race day.

Faith needs to be there when rewards are not!

It's important to have faith in the process behind what you are doing, because rewards are not always that easy to find.

Take for example our runners - in the lead up to last Sunday, they completed between 60 - 90 training sessions to prepare them for the event.  It's basically impossible to recognise any rewards after one of these sessions, let alone all 60 - 90 of them.

Sure each run was beneficial for them and they gain strength, endurance capacity and mental toughness along the way, but these all things that are very hard to gauge and even harder to recognise on a daily basis.

But each person kept plugging along, and turning up to every training session (with the exception of one or two Monday morning sleep ins - yes Jasmine we are talking about you!!!) with the faith that the all training will help them on race day.

It's just as important for every goal!

And the same faith in the process is needed no matter what your health and fitness goal is.

• Body builders need to get into the gym and often repeat the same routine time and time again to get the smallest of gains that could mean the difference between winning and losing.
• Sprinters spend countless hours on the track, committing huge amounts of time and energy to the process, in the hope that it will take microseconds off their time.
• People who are trying to lose weight need to understand that it is a lengthy and sometimes difficult process that is made all the more easier by consistent efforts.

And to end my sermon....

Put simply.....do the work and you will get results!

They won't always come quickly, they won't be very easy to see, but they will happen.

1. Commit to a goal
2. Immerse yourself in the necessary process that will help you achieve the goal
3. Have faith in the process and keep on keeping on!

....and then one day you will be able to sit back and enjoy your rewards!!

Cheers

Chris van Hoof
Chisel Fitness Head Trainer

Amongst the crowds were some Chisel Fitness clients who realised some individual goals on their way to competing in the 10km run and 21.1km Half Marathon.

Check out these photos -

Here's a list of who did what:

10km Run

Laura Sinclair
Jodi Smith
Jasmine Potter (and her Mum!)
Mary Mason

21.1km Half Marathon

Mel Sinclair
Harry Sinclair
Joanne Kershaw
James Lonergan
Ben Thomas
Chris van Hoof

Well done everyone. 

Cheers,

Chris van Hoof
Chisel Fitness Head Trainer