David @ DHPT

Note: This article contains affiliate links With the cricket World Cup moving into the knockout stages and the Black Caps performing well there has been a lot of talk in the press and by the commentators about choking. As well as choking there have been many comments about players being “pumped up” for a big game or having a look of calm focus prior to a big innings.  The big question Can you get too fired up before a big match? The answer is yes, but it also depends on the individual player. What is too fired up for one person may be just the right level of focus for another. Technically, how fired up an athlete gets is known in the sports psychology world as arousal. The optimum level of arousal has been studied fairly heavily over the years in the hopes of finding the “sweet spot” where players are in the optimal zone for high performance. In a nutshell, it has been found that the level differs for different people. This means that athletes must find where they ...

I communicate with a lot of different people over a lot of different mediums about training and exercise. One of the ways I communicate with people is through Twitter . One of the most common tweets I see on Twitter about exercise is people asking for a workout or people asking others what workout they are using to get the results they are getting. I can understand people wanting to get some information or a training routine which has helped someone else but there is one huge factor that people are forgetting. That is themselves. Everyone is different. The training plan that worked for someone else may not work for you. In fact, it may get you the reverse results you want. Let me take a step back for a minute. Set your goals Exercise is not a one size fits all kind of deal. What one person is capable of getting through in a workout may be too easy or too hard for another. The chances that it is just right for you too are fairly minimal. You may get a great workout from someone ...

Corporate fitness is nothing new. Organisations have been supporting employees in their efforts to stay healthy for years but some employers still hesitate to get behind these efforts.  This always surprises me as the benefits seem to dramatically outweigh the setbacks.  Here are just a few of those benefits. A healthier workforce This one is probably the most obvious of all the benefits of supporting employees who want to get fit. Healthier staff means less sick days. Less sick days mean more productivity for the employer which is beneficial to the bottom line as well as the staff member. A healthier workforce can also mean reduced insurance premiums if this is a benefit that you as an employer provide. This again will help with the bottom line. Encourages people to take breaks While this may initially seem like it is detrimental to an employer it is, in fact, the opposite. We are turning into a deskbound species. We sit for very long pe...

I’m just going to say this straight up. When I see or hear this phrase on TV or the radio, it bugs me more than I can possibly describe. It is purely a marketing gimmick. Designed to make people feel that it is their fault if they cannot manage to get that six-pack ab look in a ridiculously short time period. Never mind that the guy who is modelling that look probably trained and dieted for months in advance to get there. No short cuts Let’s go back a few steps and let you follow the train of thought that brought me to this rant. I get up early - well earlier than most. My first training sessions for the day start at 6.15am so in order to be there and set up in time I am up at around 5.15am. I’m not saying this for sympathy – I actually don’t mind getting up this early as I am a morning person. It just explains why I see so many infomercials – I briefly turn on the TV while I am having breakfast before rushing out the door. And invariably there is an infomercial on explaining t...

Working out is a struggle for most people. And life has a great way of making things even more annoying through small hassles that hit us daily. In keeping with this thought, here are some things you can do to make your time at the gym or working out that much easier. Feed your locker key through your shoelace Most gym users utilise the lockers at their gym at least every so often if not every workout. Unfortunately, many clothes designed for exercising in are woefully lacking in secure pockets to keep a locker key in (a major oversight if anyone in the exercise apparel business happens to read this).   As a result, often you need to find somewhere to store a single key or carry it with you all over the gym and hope you don’t lose it. One method I use to ensure I don’t lose my key is to utilise my shoelaces. Most keys have a hole in them designed for a keyring to feed through. When getting changed I take my locker key and feed a shoelace through the keyring hole and double ...

One of the key factors in reaching your health and fitness goals is motivation. In fact, it is probably the most important factors. Without it, you simply have no chance of sticking to your exercise and nutrition plans. As such, here are a couple of different ways to keep up your levels of enthusiasm when you feel them starting to wane. Get a training partner… Training by yourself is tough. Dragging yourself out of bed at 5:30am or finishing work at 6:00pm and then getting to the gym is difficult if the only person expecting you to show up is you. By having someone else who expects you to be there and will hold you accountable for not being there you are more likely to get your regular training sessions in. Especially on those days where you just don’t feel like hitting the gym – and trust me we all have them. On a personal note, I have also found it easier to push myself in terms of what I am capable of doing once I am in the gym if I have a training partner with me. There is a...

New Year’s resolutions are more often than not short-lived affairs. Often they barely make it past New Year ’s Eve let alone through January. Perhaps the most common of all New Year’s resolutions is to get fit. If you are wondering why you went to the gym twice and have not returned this year, the reason may be below. You went too hard too fast… A common issue when starting out on a fitness plan is to go at it like a bull at a gate. Often people getting back into exercise or starting regular exercise for the first time want to get into things as fast as possible. This would be fine, however, there is just one small problem – often they are unfit. This might seem like it’s stating the obvious but it needs to be remembered. You might walk into the gym on the 3 rd of January and see a guy squatting 150kg and think you want a piece of the action. What you need to remember is that the guy who squats a buck fifty has been squatting a long time to reach that number – you haven’t. S...