PHILOSOPHY + MINDSET
There are four parts to training which are the soul factors between you achieving the goals that you seek or you being stagnant and stuck in you ways and never progressing.
Philosophy- The Inner Circle
My training philosophy is very simple. It can be summed up by the old Japanese proverb “Kaizen” which translates to “continuous improvement”.
Many fitness brands and cults think that there is a “magic” way of exercising or that people need to be part of a certain collective to get the gains that they seek. But my training philosophy is SCIENCE driven. There are certain laws of science that will never change, and understanding how these laws meet and contribute to each other is of huge importance when aiming to build a specific training program. Whether it’s to get faster and stronger for a fight or being more efficient to cut your 10k time or even if it’s just to improve body composition, the laws will never change.
I feel that there are four key areas to focus on when explaining my training philosophy:
Physical
This refers to being physically ready. I believe that firing on 80% all year round. Meaning you are ready to tackle that unexpected event, or you can jump into action if you need to sprint or help someone. Physical isn’t just about being able to lift weight, physical is the ability for you to push you and others to the physical limits, to harden your body to perform in competition and be useful for society. As an athlete the physical is based on improving overall performance. Making the 1% efforts and these will build to a high level of performance.
Mental
This relates to mindset. The reason I’ve chosen blue for my logo is based off the All Blacks mindset. The All Blacks talk about emotions being colours. Red being an emotional and unpredictable mindset making instinctive decisions which can be positive but also can be self destructive. The colour blue however is a calm and calculated mindset where decisions are made for the greater good of the team and not for the individual. Adopting this mindset shift will allow you to make clearer and more calculated decisions to better you and your teams performance. The job is only done when it is done, but how you approach this is the key to success.
The key part to this is emotional balance. Having the clear mindedness to make intelligent decisions for the best of the team, whilst having the emotional energy to keep pushing forward when times are tough and your backs against the wall is imperative to coming out the other side.
Spiritual
Your spirit isn’t some wishy washy flow state rubbish. This relates to your tenacity to keep persevering when times get tough. This is the relentlessness pursuit of bettering you and the people around you. Spiritualism relates to the hardening of your physical and mental well being. One of my rugby coaches Allan Lewis (Current Wales U20’s International Coach) taught me this:
“You must be like a boxing bag, doesn’t matter how hard something hits you, you will still be there swinging”
Spiritual also roles over into other key areas of character development. Courage, Honesty, Loyalty, Understanding, Forgiving as well as Belief are all part of this. There are many stories of courage throughout history, whether it's surviving a freak accident or attacking a task that is thought to be impossible. Your spiritual characteristics usually dictate your autonomic behaviour, meaning your sub conscious guides your instincts. With this the aim is to teach and coach you into understanding your inner you and allowing yourself to be able to make more calculated decisions when you are under pressure.
Leadership
Being a true leader is bringing you and your team to the next level. Not by bullying them into submission, but by cultivating a thriving environment for you and your team to learn and progress towards a common goal. Throughout my time as a pro rugby player and now a strength and conditioning coach I have always been in the limelight when it comes to leadership. The reason for this is that I have non negotiable’s that a true leader should stand by:
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It's about the main objective, not you.
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Discipline equals freedom.
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Don't ask people to do things that you wouldn’t do yourself.
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You are a role model, act like one.
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Train your mind and body everyday.
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If there’s poison in the camp, get rid of it at all costs.
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Build people up, don’t break them down.
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Education is power.
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Get a mentor or look up to those who have got to where you want you and your team to be.
These are only but a few mantras that I instil and teach when developing a winning team.
