DarDel Fitness & Nutrition

29th Jan 2019

Goal Focused Habits

1) Choose your desired goal, this can be anything, there are no limits!

2) Any goal needs to be prepared for & it is your daily habits & actions that lead you to your goals & successes. What are you doing on a daily basis that is focused towards your goal? These habits can be as big or as small as you need them to be in order that you are always moving forward towards your goal.

3) “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail”, have you ever heard this old saying?……the other side of this is “Perfect practice makes perfect”, So now that you have your habits chosen & in place you need to practice them, you need to perfect them & get good at doing the simple things consistently & consistently well. A solid foundation of well chosen & practiced/perfected habits is often the difference between goal success or falling short of your goal.

4) Each habit should lead from one to the next in a logical & well thought out manner. You only move on to the next habit when you have mastered the previous, this will help you to build the necessary skill-set for your goal.

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Nutrition

What are your goals? If you know your goal/s (ie lose weight, gain muscle, run a marathon, compete in a strongman competition etc) you can then set your nutritional plan out to help you fuel for these targets. Different goals will come with different nutritional needs, for example if you want to lose weight you will then have to eat in a calorie deficit (use more calories than you consume), if you want to gain weight & put on muscle you will have to eat in a calorie surplus (eat more calories than you use) & when you have a specific training target goal then the nutritional needs become a little more specific.

The diet or way you choose to eat is entirely up you, however you need to know that some diets do not lend themselves well to certain types of activity or training (for example a keto diet or low carbohydrate diet may not by the best choice or power athletes, weightlifters, sprinters or for marathon runners looking to make a break away or sprint finish in a race as these types of efforts are largely fueled by carbohydrates).

28th Jan 2019

Training and Recovery

Is your training specific to your target goal? For example are you spending hours on the treadmil or running the roads in a bid to take part in your first strongman competition……if you are then you may find that first competition a little harder than it needs to be! We all move & exercise in similar patterns when we train (hinge, squat, vertical push/pull, horizontal push/pull), however which of these movements is more applicable to your chosen field of training, do you need to focus on one more than the others, do you need to focus on them all equally? Your training should be somewhat reflective of your target goal. If you are training for a strongman

competition then you will need to focus on the main 3 lifts (squat, deadlift, bench press), however you will also need to spend some time working on accessory lifts to address any weaknesses you may have & also mobility exercises to address any mobility issues. Likewise if you plan to run a marathon you will spend a considerable amount of time working on your cardiovascular system (running, cycling & possibly swimming or rowing), however you will also need to spend some time working on your strength in the weight room.

After all of your training you will need to ensure you are fully recovered before your next training session, this will be achieved through adequate sleep & rest, your nutrition also comes into play here……did you fuel adequately before your training session & have you re-fueled post-training? Also were your rest periods in your training sessions enough to allow you to deliver optimal performance in that session?

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Everything Else

Supplements will fall into this category, do you need or take any supplements, is there evidence to support their efficacy & even if there is evidence to support their use are they actually giving you any benefit…do you notice an effect, do they contain any banned substances? Supplements in short can be little bit of a mine field……proceed with caution!

In this category we also have all the fancy new trainers & equipment, do you need them & do you need them right now? If you have the money for these type of accessories & you truly feel the need & want for them then by all means get them, just know that they are not the rate-limiting factor of your success!