Fitter for Winter

Getting through the cooler months while staying fit is all about being consistent. Stick to a schedule. Lay out your weeks worth of training on the weekend and stick to it.

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY
I often hear people accepting the “fact” that winter is the time they / people in general put on weight.
Winter can actually be the best time to lose weight and train harder.
– One thing that limits you from pushing during the warmer months is the simple fact that your core temperature gets too high and your body stops you from continuing.
– Being cold isn’t a bad thing. Thing of your bodies temperature like a fire. It has to stay at 37.5 degrees. To keep this consistent your body has to fuel the fire. Yep the same fuel you eat and burn while training or living day to day can be burned so as to keep your bodies 37.5 degree temp maintained.
– Less sweet fruits. The all the sweet sugary fruits that come out in the summer months are no longer in season. So your likelihood of consuming lots of sugar (although natural) is decreased.
– Weekends are generally less busy and more consistent. Often peoples food prep and weekly planning can have its hurdles with weekends spent beaching / day tripping or with weddings and christmas parties.

So change your mindset, don’t commit to a winter of lesser fitness and potential weight gain just because its happened before. Change that head space and work hard. Trust me, you can do a whole lot in winter.

Non-negotiables !!!! are life

Non-negotiables are key.
A non-negotiable is a self imposed rule that you use to guide yourself through what ever facet of life you adhere it too.
They are black and white rules and they can easily simplify your training, diet, work and social life.

Examples that I use. (there are more than this)
TRAINING
Full range of motion in movements. (ie squats = hips to knee height, lunges = knee to ground, pushups = chest to etc etc)
Be active daily
listen to my body.
DIET
No meat
No artificial, colours, flavours preservative ( in any foods that I can read the label on)
No purchasing of; diary, processed sugars, food farmed internationally, desserts or sweets
SOCIAL / ANTI SOCIAL / LIFE
Give myself 1 hour + of 100% me time each day
Only do things I want to do. ( this doesn’t mean be selfish, I help people all the time. I do though reserve the right to say no to things for reason that it is not something I want to be a part of)
Back your play ( my play ) If I chose to do it, I wanted to do it, I will therefore do it right!

(theres more but this will do)

Try starting with one or two Non-negotiables and see how it affects your decision making

 

Control only what you can

Take Control of What you can and Tell the rest to Fuck Off
(quietly under your breath like you don’t care)

Often we feel out of control, overwhelmed with daily tasks and the result often ends up being we get none of them done.

1. Eat the frog (A quote by Mark Twain and a Brian Tracey Book if you are interested)

To simplify, to its utmost simplicity. Do the task that you don’t want to do first. If you have two frogs (tasks) to eat, eat the biggest one first.

2. Control only what you can control.
Have you ever been caught in traffic and felt your frustration increase because you are now running late. You get angry and annoyed. But why? What choice do you have? Is there another option? No! so calm the fuck down because you have no control over this situation.
What you do have control over is your nutrition, your sleep patterns (parents not always included) when you train etc etc. Take charge of these elements and don’t stress about the others.

What is the Spartan Race thing???

Spartan Racing is potentially one of the best events for those who don’t like events

So, with a bit of talk of Spartan Racing going around at the moment. I thought I’d ask Kat ( our resident fanatic) for a run down on spartan racing. (it seems people don’t believe me when I say its not that hard)

Spartan Race – A healthy addiction

If you have attended a DCPT training session, read any posts on the group page, looked at the goals wall or event calendar in the gym, or have had more than a 3 minute conversation with me, you may have realised I have a more then a casual interest in Spartan Races.

A Spartan Race lights a fire in me that I never realised existed.

Sometimes I think maybe it’s because I like medals? Getting dirty? Having a new profile pic? An excuse for a rest week?
But when I truly think about it, it’s a fire that’s born out of a love to overpower my negative thoughts. To set goals and smash them. To prove myself wrong. To experience the camaraderie and connection (#squadgoals) that only comes from starting, and finishing, one of the most mentally fatiguing races you will ever be a part of, with a group of people going through the exact same thing.

Notice that I said mentally fatiguing, and not physically fatiguing. Not that it doesn’t cause your body some discomfort – you can’t expect to traverse mountains and mud pits without a bit of recovery required – but that’s actually not the hard part. That would be arguing with yourself as to why, when your legs are burning, when you’re 3 hours in, when the terrain isn’t flat, the weather is beating down, the thought of another burpee makes you want to cry and your head is giving you every reason to quit, why you started this and why you will finish this.

And it’s more then worth it. I’ve never had a feeling of elation quite like it. Not when I lost 30kgs. Not when I quit smoking. Not when I hit my 120kg deadlift goal. Not when I ran a half marathon in under 2 hours. Not when I got backstage at Bliss N Eso. Crossing that finish line after knowing how close I came to throwing in the towel, knowing what my body and mind can achieve…….in that moment, I am invincible.

SPARTAN RACE
What the hell does that actually mean?

Dan and I have both heard the same thing from various people that we KNOW are more than capable of completing a Spartan Race.

I can’t run that far!
I’ll never keep up with everyone!
I’m not strong enough!
I’ve never even run a fun run before!
I can’t even climb a rope!
Burpees suck!

It’s made us realise that a lot of people have this opinion that when we head out for a Spartan Race, that we run like gazelles through mountainous ranges whilst leaping tall walls in a single bound, over a period of 6 hours only to cross the finish line looking like the latest Calvin Klein model with windswept hair and a slight pink to our cheeks that only comes from dancing with unicorns.

Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration.

But to set the record straight, here is my experience of what a standard Spartan Beast (21km) Race is like. And I’ve done like 3, so I’m pretty much the leading expert in the field.

START LINE
You start off bouncing around with a bunch of people you don’t know, all of which are just as excited/nervous/unknowing as you. There’s a pretty cool dude Max yelling out words of encouragement to the crowd. High fives all round. A quick yell of AROOOOO!!!!! And you’re off.

THE RACE
Run the first 2-3km. Hit an obstacle. Wait for your turn to complete obstacle. Complete obstacle (or burpees!). Wait for the rest of your group. Run/walk/jog to next obstacle. Repeat. A lot. General rule of thumb: when flat or downhill – jog; when uphill – walk. Pretty simple, eh?

What to expect throughout the course:

Walking/swimming through creeks/rivers/lakes.
Hiking up and down some steep and rocky terrain.
Crawling under and climbing over stuff.
Carrying/throwing/dragging heavy things.
You will get wet.
You will get muddy.
You will feel it the next day.

FINISH LINE
Jump over fire log with style (this will make for great Instagram photos later). Cross finish line. Collect earned medal, t-shirt and beer!!!! High five your mates. High five the strangers. Make a beeline for the food trucks. Eat all the carbs.

So in summary – if you can handle hanging out with some pretty cool people for 6 hours, make friends with randoms, don’t mind getting dirty, and enjoy beer and carbs?? Then you can definitely complete a Spartan Race!!

My 2 cents
If you want to direct your training at something, if you want to give it a reason and some emphasis, if you want some more drive. Then Spartan will do it. Its just the right mixture. (maybe that was 3 cents)

WHO IS

DAN CRISP

PERSONAL TRAINING PROJECT

was created to bring quality personal training into an affordable group environment.

“I have experience, credentials and knowledge, but that doesn’t make for a good coach or trainer.

I have empathy and passion. I can motivate and empower. I can create drive and determination .

I have the belief that everyone has the tools required to achieve everything they want.

In my mind, that’s what makes for a good trainer.”

dcpt portrait

Dan Crisp gave birth to dcpt project in Williamstown in 2014, with a small client base of less than 20 girls, training outdoors at the beach and local footy ovals. Fast forward 18 months, and dcpt project now boasts an amazing warehouse/industrial space in Yarraville, custom built for all things health and fitness, with a dedicated client base of over 50 members and growing.

dcpt project is more than just a gym, it’s Dan’s baby. All clients are made to feel comfortable and are kept motivated as Dan quickly picks up on what gets each person going.

Behind the scenes, Dan invests huge amounts of time ‘checking in’ with clients to ensure their personal journeys are progressing. Remembering the individual goals of each member, and continuously following up on them during sessions as well as outside of business hours remind clients that they are here for a reason. This persistence ensures that each client turns up to training with a sense of purpose, and gets the most out of their sessions.

As well as a purpose built training environment, Dan has created an ever-changing and progressive approach to programming. Dan prides himself on creating a program that will challenge people of all levels.

“It’s not about creating new exercises or complicated movements, it’s setting the members a challenge for that one session, that can either just be completed, or can leave them with a challenging goal for the near future. Falling just short of your target is such a strong motivator to fight harder next time” – Dan Crisp

Dan’s passion has made him a standout in his field, so much so that he was recently approached by Lululemon to come onboard as an ambassador. Lululemon wanted to help support Dan’s vision, to help promote the importance of health and fitness as a part of a holistic life.

“We wanted you to be an ambassador because we love the shit you do, and we want to help you do it bigger and better” – unnamed lululemon representative

“This opens up so many opportunities for me and my members. I’ve always wanted to go bigger in the things I do. Effect more people, change more perspectives. This relationship opens up so many avenues. I can’t wait” – Dan Crisp

Come meet Dan and check out dcpt project HQ, located at 177 Stephen St, Yarraville.

 

 

 

Sattva Yoga Sundays

john von promo

Adding to the dcpt project arsenal and belief that health and fitness is holistic. dcpt project and its members would like to
welcome John Von from Sattva Yoga AU to the Project

John has been practicing yoga since his early teens and last year completed his teacher training in Sattva Yoga.

Starting this Sunday at 10am. John will be taking a 60min Sattva Practice at dcpt project. So grab your mat throw a beanie on that bead hair and come in.

Sattva Yoga
The sequence is changed monthly to keep the practice fresh, inspirational and continually accessing all parts of the body and mind. We work with a 4 month cycle focusing on the front body, back body, side body, and strength body ensuring a well rounded and balanced approach to the practice of yoga. Sattva also incorporates the practice of pranayama (breathing). The breath is viewed as the connector between the physical and mental body, and a control and strengthening of breath will bring benefits not only physically but mentally too.

SUNDAY FUNDAY @ LULULEMON HIGHPOINT

LAST CHANCE TO COME BOX UP A STORM AT HIGHPOINT LULULEMON

Have you ever boxed in a retail store?

When was the last time you did something outside of your comfort zone?

When did you last do something new by yourself and make a friend in the process?

THIS SUNDAY FOR THE LAST TIME THIS MONTH

Dan from dcpt project will be rocking out in-store boxing.
To finish off Dans run of boxing sessions he is calling out for everyone and anyone to come join in and make this the biggest session yet.

Starting at 8:45 with a brief intro and some instructions

then

with the lights low and the industrial fans pumping the combos kick in and the temperature goes up as we work though 45 minutes of combos and ab work!!

once you’ve caught your breath, catch up for a chat and some brekkie, kindly supplied by the Highpoint crew.

Come be a part of this unique training session

email

[email protected]

or

[email protected]

to confirm or ask any questions.

or

if your other Sunday plans fall through just rock up on the day and join in