David @ DHPT

This will most likely be my final blog post of the year.  As such, I thought that it would be useful to look back at the 12 months that have passed and see what I have learned along the way.  Some of it fitness related, some of it life related, some of it probably nonsensical, but don't judge me please.  Here goes. 1. I'm a morning person.  This may sound simple but it has changed my entire outlook on how I live and work.  Most days I now get up at 5.15am (at the latest - 3-4 days per week I am up at 4.30am).   Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be a martyr here.  I have just realised that I function better in the morning than at night.  Ss if I want to get more work done I need to be up earlier, simple as that.  I have been way more productive since making the change so I must be on to something. 2. The saying "If you find a job you love, you'll never work another day in your life" is actually true.  I love my job.  Simple...

It took me a while to finally accept it but this week I went and contacted a personal trainer to help me out with some motivation and to write me a program to suit my goals. This may seem strange to some of you out there - a personal trainer who needs a personal trainer.  I can understand, as a trainer my job is to motivate and train others, so shouldn't I be able to do the same for myself?  I thought so too, but I was wrong...somewhat. For years I was carrying more weight than is optimal for a person my age.  This was something that as a personal trainer I hated in myself - I felt hypocritical telling others how to improve their health and fitness while struggling with my own.  There came a turning point however that changed my habits for the better. I got diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. You have no idea how much that (1) shocked me, and (2) gave me a kick up the butt to get some changes made in my life.  I have dropped a lot of weight since that phone...

We have gift vouchers available - contact David on david@360degreefitness.co.nz or call on 021-257-9963 to arrange a customised gift voucher for your loved one.

This is a guest blog post by Tiffany Foskett - a massage therapist who has a wealth of experience in the industry and has worked with both athletes and the general population. For more details check her bio at the end of the post. _________________________________________________________________________ Deep tissue massage? Isn’t that just for elite athletes? Why would I need to get one? I just do my hour work out and I’m done. If I had a dollar for every time I’d heard these type of comments from people, I think I could’ve paid off my house by now! Though, in the 13 years that I’ve been a massage therapist, I’d have to say the last couple of years have seen more and more people change their perception towards deep tissue massage to the extent that many now make it part of their exercise routine. Whether it’s because there’s more education out there on the effects of massage, or because Tom down the road swears by his weekly massage keeping him injury free, I don’t know....

I've been slacking over the past few weeks on my nutrition.  I realised it when I looked at my food tracking app on my phone.  Too many red lines - days where I ate more calories than I should have.  My habits had slipped backwards and some old habits are surfacing again. But it didn't happen overnight.  It happened over the course of a few weeks - a meal here, a meal there, an extra coffee or a treat I knew didn't really needed.  It started to creep in without me even really noticing it. My point is that sometimes the change in our eating doesn't come as a result of a catastrophic binge one weekend.  It can happen in a very gradual way.  What we need to do is notice when it is happening and take action when it does. I often tell people to keep a food diary when they first start training with me.  I don't tell them this necessarily to make them count calories or check their nutrient levels.  I do it to promote mindfulness in their ...

We had a great outcome from our can drive for Kiwi Community Assistance.  The majority of our clients donated food to the can drive and we ended up with over 60 cans of food. This was donated to KCA who will use the food to feed needy families in the Wellington region. We are looking to make this a regular event in our yearly calendar so watch this space for the next opportunity to get behind this great cause!

We are organising a can drive for the last week of October 2015.  Any training session during this week will be able to be paid for using canned food.  One can per group fitness session and two cans for any personal training session. If you would like to donate over and above this that is great, please feel free. All food will be donated to Kiwi Community Assistance a local organisation who provide support to needy families. If you have empty jam containers lying around the house please clean them out and bring them along too as they will be filled with home-made jam and donated also. Please get in behind this great cause.  We believe that with your support we can get between 50 and 60 cans of food together over the week which will make a big difference in the lives of local families. We look forward to your support, and thanks!

I hate scales.  Well I don't hate them, they do have their place.  I just hate it when they become the be all and end all of fitness results. I understand why people put stock in the scales.  It's something that has been practiced over decades so it's a tough behaviour to change.  But I'm suggesting that we do.  Let's throw away the bathroom scales, or at least keep the weight in perspective. When training a client who wants to lose fat I make sure that they don't weigh themselves daily, or sometimes even weekly.  Why?  Because weight is incredibly changeable.  It changes based on the time of day, how much water you have consumed, whether you've been to the bathroom recently, if you just ate, and a hundred other reasons.   It also needs to be said that muscle weighs more than fat, so if you are putting on lean muscle, the scales could go up too. I'm more interested in trends.  Yes I do weigh my clients, but I look at other numbers ...

One common reason why people give up on their health/fitness plans soon after starting them is that they don't see results right away.  The difficult thing about getting fit or losing weight is that it takes time, and these days people want things and they want them now. I am no different.  I hate having to wait for things - I despise waiting in line for service, waiting for delivery of parcels, waiting for people who are late, and many other things that I need to wait for.  But unfortunately you can't rush the human body. Weight loss especially  is   a waiting game.  The best way I have heard fat loss explained is this: "you didn't gain all of the weight in a week, so do you think you will be able to lose it in a week?", and it is so true.  It takes time. This is why I always advise clients to look at their health and fitness goals in terms of a lifestyle change rather than a "diet".  The word diet implies that it is temporary - a quick fix...

I can see mums rolling their eyes at me already - and before I get lynched I am going to say that I understand how busy the life of a mum is.  I get it, it's hectic.  If you're anything like my wife you have a hundred priorities to take care of in a day, and right at the bottom of that list is doing something for yourself.   The last thing you want to do is get a workout in.  A far more attractive option is to flop down on the couch and get a few minutes shut-eye or (heaven forbid) take some time for yourself and watch TV.  But what if I told you it could improve more than just your waistline? What about reducing stress?  Taking care of kids is stressful, they have a hundred demands which, depending on their age they can't communicate outside a scream.  This is stressful.  Exercise can help reduce your stress levels.  It releases endorphins which can improve your mood and help you feel better. Exercising regularly also causes an increas...

We will be running a free fitness drop-in session on Tuesday 15 September starting 7:00pm at the  Churton Park Community Centre .   This is a chance for you to talk to me one on one about any fitness questions you may have. The session is completely FREE . Book a time online by hitting the button below , clicking on the Churton Park Community Centre location and following the instructions. You can also simply drop-in and wait your turn on the night. Book a time now

Come along to a 360 Degree Fitness group fitness session in September and purchase a ten trip concession to receive a free 360 Degree Fitness T-Shirt (limit one T-Shirt per customer). This deal applies to our regulars as well as any new clients who join up in September. We would love to see you.  Click here for our group session timetable , and here for a list of prices .

A lot of people join gyms, hire personal trainers, or start attending boot-camps  in spring looking to get a little fitter, tone up or lose some weight before beach season rolls around over the Christmas holidays.  Here are a few reasons to get in early and start that training over winter instead. More time to get there... Firstly, you have longer to reach your fitness goals.  This may sound extremely obvious now, but most people don't really think about getting fit for summer until it's almost too late to do it.  Why put time pressure on yourself to lose weight or get fit? It is already stressful enough sticking to a nutrition plan and putting in the training hours.  Make it a little easier and give yourself plenty of time to reach your fitness goals. Emptier gyms... This one I have learnt from both a gym-goer and a trainers perspective.  People tend to fall out of their routines over winter.  It is hard to motivate yourself to get up at...

I've tried to write this post a few times and haven't quite nailed it.  As such it hasn't been published, so I'm happy that I've finally managed to get it done.  I've written it to explain the basic  360 Degree Fitness  philosophy and how I view training and fitness in general. The philosophy revolves around 3 basic ideas - train well, eat well, recover well. If you can get these sorted you're on your way to reaching your fitness goals.  Often, however, people end up getting bogged down in the details before getting the basics right. The plethora of information out there makes it hard to know what the basics even are.  So these are what I consider the basics to be - plain and simple.  For the basis of this post, I'm looking at weight loss as this is what I get asked about most often as a trainer.  If you have any other specific questions get in touch with me and I will answer them. Firstly, nutrition.  Eat for your goal.  It reall...

Lately I have had a bad case of man flu.  My darling wife thinks I've been overplaying my hand in this regard but I'm on antibiotics so I feel warranted in the pain and anguish I have been showing.  Apparently we will have to agree to disagree that I am really sick (but I think I won that battle). What it has had an impact on though is my training.  It is pretty hard to get motivated to train when you have a pounding headache, fever, and aching muscles and bones.  Seeing as it is flu season I thought it was a good time to discuss some things to be aware of in terms of training and illness. Firstly the ideal situation is to not get sick in the first place.  If you can get a free flu jab use it.  While you may feel slightly under the weather for a couple of days as a result, I can tell you it is better than the alternative that may have you feeling like death warmed up for a week or more. Winter is also a good time to check that you are getting enough V...

I have come into personal/ group fitness training a little later in life than most having had part of a career elsewhere first.  It took me a while to get here but now that I am here, I firmly believe that I will always love training people.  Here are a few reasons why. My client's successes feel like joint successes Setting goals with clients is a mainstay of training, it is something that you do on a regular basis.  Once the goal is set, it can be weeks or even years before the client gets to that goal (depending on how long-term a goal it is).  As such you get to see and help your clients through the ups and inevitable downs along the way.  So when a client reaches that goal it feels very much like you have both reached a goal - after all you have travelled the journey together even though the client has had the biggest burden to carry. Every day is different I used to work in an office where my daily routine changed very little.  Get in every...

Injuries are pretty frustrating.  I can tell you from vast experience.  I have even been referred to by friends in the past as "Mr Glass" which gives you an idea of the number of mishaps I have had in my recent past.  But as well as being frustrating, they have also been learning experiences for me.   Here are a few things I have learnt along the road to recovery.  You can't make a better investment than a good physiotherapist The first thing that I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt is that you can't make a better investment (post-injury) than a good physiotherapist.  Once the damage has been done and the doctor has made their diagnosis, seek out a good physio.   Physios can make sure that you get a proper rehabilitation plan that will get you up and about much sooner than just waiting for it to heal on its own.  Sure, there may be some pain in the sessions but a little discomfort now can prevent a lot of issues later. ...

In many ways, our bodies are like motor vehicles. They both move us around, they are both more fragile than we realise, and they can both cost us a fortune to get fixed! However there are some ways in which we can prevent them from costing us more later in life, and some ways to get them fixed that will prevent further costs as well. WOF – Medical Check-up Your car needs to be safe out there on the roads, so every so often you need to have a warrant of fitness performed on it to ensure that it is roadworthy. While these can be expensive depending on what needs fixing to bring the car up to the required standard, I don’t think there would be many people who would say they are not worthwhile. As you get older your body needs the same attention. While you may not be putting anyone else at risk if there is an undiagnosed issue with your body, you may be putting yourself at risk. By getting regular check-ups with your GP you can often catch issues before they become serious. GP vi...

Many people view their rest days as days where they should be doing nothing at all. In some cases, this may be correct – for example following an intense sporting competition I would advise taking the day to relax and unwind. However, I would suggest in most cases there are things you could be doing to help repair your body and prepare it for the next training session or game. I have put together a few of these suggestions for you to look at integrating into your training plan. When your muscles are tired, or if you are suffering from DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) that occurs following a tough workout you can feel that doing anything is too much effort to be worth it. Stretching however is a great way to relieve DOMS and to bring some life back into tired muscles. You don’t need to go crazy and stretch for 3 hours or anything, but even a 30-minute stretch can make you feel a lot better so it’s definitely worth the investment in time. Another way to breathe life back into so...

I was informed by my LinkedIn profile the other day that it has been 2 years since the inception of 360 Degree Fitness. I thought as it has been an interesting, challenging and rewarding climb over those two years that I needed to thank some people for their help and support. It is always important to remember those who believed in you at those times when your own belief faltered so that is what I have done. There are so many people who have had a hand in my business over its first 730 days. Not least of these are my clients. You are the reason why I get up in the morning and work late into the night. The reason why I have the best job in the world, and the reason I have stuck out the hard times to get through to where I am today. Yes, there have been some rough times – times where we were not sure where the money to pay the bills was coming from, but that is the price of following your dreams and having clients as enthusiastic and supportive as I have has made it all worth it. O...

The most common reason people give as to why they don’t exercise is that they don’t have time. I can understand, people have busy lives. Between work, friends, family and hobbies it can seem like there are not enough hours in the day to get to the gym. Here are a few ways to help you find time to get your workout in. Workout early in the day By getting in a workout first thing in the morning, you have less time for life to get in the way. There may be completely legitimate reasons for not being able to exercise like you forgot to take your gym gear to work, or your boss needs you to stay late to finish a project. By working out before life has a chance to derail your exercise pans you ensure that you have ticked that box for the day and can focus on whatever else life has to throw at you. Break up your workout Workouts can take a long time - I get it. My workouts can take 90 minutes or more sometimes. This is especially true if you are training for a specific event...