Tag: Accountability

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The Key To A Strong Immune System

The Key To A Strong Immune System

 alexandra merisoiu

Many times I am asked whether I catch a cold running in shorts and t-shirt in rain or snow, summer or winter. My answer is always no.

We do not catch a cold because it’s cold outdoors. No. We catch a cold when our immune system is down, that firewall. That’s when we are open to viruses and we catch that virus.

Your immune system can drop because of many different reasons. One of them could be intense training or cold. Yes. Cold can lower your immune system. However it’s not the cold that makes you catch a cold. It’s your weaken immune system.

However, if you keep your immunity strong constantly you needn’t worry about cold and intense training.

 

THE MISTAKE

There is a habit. The habit of inconsistency. You cannot have a strong immune system if you are not consistent with your eating habits, your training routine and sleeping patterns.

The “bad day, good day” stories are good excuses but the only one suffering will be you. In time, by confusing the body so much, its defense mechanisms will weaken and it will be more difficult to get them back up than if you were consistent from the beginning.

You may or may not be aware that what you do for months can cause those defences to gradually weaken, and not what you did yesterday. So running in the rain….no I don’t catch a cold.

 

STRESS AND LACK OF SLEEP

When I do catch a cold I know these are the 2 reasons that weaken my immune system a lot. I know because I pay close attention to my habits. Sometimes I even write them down.

Need I say more? Just that sleeping well (resting well, quality sleep is not the same as quantity) 3 days out of 7 or 20/30 doesn’t mean you are consistent. And don’t be surprised when you catch a cold because your body didn’t have the chance to recharge.

By the way, sleeping is the only time when the body heals in its natural way. Bear that in mind.

 

FUEL

This is one of the Food Discipline™ lessons I repeat over and over again.

Food is fuel. Leaving aside the cultural aspects and that it satisfies our taste buds, food is actually there to fuel our bodies and keep them strong.

Understand this, really understand it, and you will witness your food choice begin to change.

 

THE KEY

If you want to have a strong immune system be consistent with your (right) habits and drop the “good day, bad day” story. The right habits that build and help your body recover.

Recovery is not only after exercising. Recovery is after a day of work or looking after the kids. The body uses resources and it needs to recover.

 

There is no such thing as a good and a bad day, they are the reflections of your habits. Exceptions should be exceptions, and not daily and weekly habits.

Thus the KEY to a strong immune system is CONSISTENCY.

 

The KEY to consistency is, many times, ACCOUNTABILITY. If you struggle to stay consistent and want to get certain habits in place, habits that will last long-term contact me.

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10 Reasons Why You Should Have Your Own Personal Health Coach

10 Reasons Why You Should Have Your Own Personal Health Coach

Have you ever asked yourself whether or not you need a coach? If so, here are a few reasons why a Personal Health Coach can be a good idea if you want to get results. It will also help you decide whether you need one or not. Not everyone needs a coach and coaching is not for everyone.

1. Consistency and accountability!

I will begin with these 2 because they are essential to get lasting results. You will see your Personal Coach weekly, or maybe even more often and they will make sure you get things done to get results. And even if you make mistakes they will be there to guide you back on track.

Your success is your coach’s success.

Personally I keep in touch with each of my clients in between the sessions, asking them how their week is going, if they did the routine we have chosen for them to do, what they struggles are and so on.

And those who are committed to transform their lives do the work, make time and make it possible and they do get what they seek.

 

2. Trusted source of information

We do our research. We study, test and learn. You have access to all that information, so you don’t have to waste time on reading everything on the internet.

Furthermore, there are things you cannot learn from a book.

 

3. Saves you time

It takes time to come up with exercises and routines to get the best results. If, for example, you do the same routine at some point you have to change it or you will stop making any progress and you might actually regress.

See my blog on the adaptation process to better understand what I am talking about.

 

4. Gets results

There is a reason athletes have coaches. As athletes, although we know a lot about our sport and we can actually coach others, we still need coaches. Because you cannot push yourself harder than someone else can push you.

 

5. Gets results….safe

It is important not to compromise aesthetics for a healthy body. What I mean is that too many of us focus on weight loss at our body’s expense.

Remember that weight will always go up and down, but once you damage your body it takes years to heal. In some cases certain injuries never heal completely.

 

6. Out of your comfort zone

You can only take yourself out of the comfort zone so far. And if you are not taken out of your comfort zone you will never get results.

If what you do doesn’t make you grow stop doing it, there’s no point doing it.

[tweetthis]If what you do doesn’t make you grow stop doing it, there’s no point doing it.[/tweetthis]

Urban Women Fitnes - The Merisoiu Technique

7. Attention and care

Having a Personal Coach it’s…well…personal. You and your coach will get to know each other very well.

Your sessions together are not limited to the 1h-1h30min a week but you talk in between your sessions. That’s how you get long lasting results, by having someone who cares guiding you.

Your coach will create a training program that will take into account your goals and aspirations but also who you are as a person.

8. Saves you money

You may think not, particularly if it’s an expensive coach, however your personal coach can teach you how to care for your body inside and out.

They coach you smart, keeping you away from injuries and they can give you tools you will be using for a lifetime, that will save you money on physiotherapy sessions, diets and all sorts of things you really don’t need once you establish strong foundations.

My Sensei once told me that when someone asks for a certain amount of money, which seems a lot, that means there is always something more than the eye can see. In some cases this is spot on.

9. After coaching resources

You personal coach may have online resources so when you finish your personal coaching together you have everything ready for you to continue by yourself.

For example I give my clients lifetime access to the UWF Academy which follows 12 weeks of weekly training, food discipline, technique guides, meditations and more.

And they can do these programs over and over and over again. This is very valuable as they can do things by themselves and not always depend on someone else.

10. Motivation and support

When the tough gets tough many people give up, they reset and then have to start all over again. Remember, consistency is key to make progress and get results. Those who have their Personal Coach are less likely to give up.

There is someone there behind you to push you forwards and walk the journey with you. Of course you can cancel your sessions but will you? I am pretty sure you will not.

When you give up you reset and have to start all over again, if you continue no matter how difficult it gets that’s how you get the results. And how do you keep going when you want to stop? Yep, that’s right, you have a Personal Coach before you even get to that stage.

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Struggling to stay motivated? This is why…

Struggling to stay motivated? This is why…

 beach

When I ask my clients what is their greatest health and wellness struggle in that point in time I often get this answer: finding it difficult to stay motivated to exercise.

 

And the usual reasons are:

1. They don’t really know what to do

2. They know but they find nothing interesting in what they do

3. It’s boring to go to the same place, do the same thing (even if they change exercises), see roughly the same people and have the same view all the time.

 

There are many other reasons but there are probably the most common I get.

However there is more than that. These reasons that lead to lacking motivation are just the surface. Underneath there may be many other reasons, such as:

1. There is no purpose behind your training or exercising.

If the reason you do what you do is not strong enough, when you hit the wall you will most probably give up. There is nothing to keep you going. Read my blog on Purpose vs Goals to get an idea of what you should look for.

2. You do not grow.

As human beings we are always on a path of learning. Once we stop doing that we lose interest. Progressing from 10 press ups to 20 is not learning. Learning is developing the technique or learning different techniques. Here you also need creativity and colour in your workouts.

If you have a great purpose (goals are not purposes! – will write about this) and you learn and develop then the motivation will be there for longer and will be stronger.

3. There is NO accountability.

You can be accountable to yourself up to a point. When the tough gets tough and life gets in the way many people slide back and then have to start all over again. And that is a motivation killer itself. Are you one of them?

Why do you think top athletes still have coaches? Do you think they cannot train themselves at their level? One of the reasons they do, and one of the reasons I have 3 coaches training me right now in Karate, Obstacle Racing and running and business, is accountability.

 

There are moments in your life when you want to stop, when things are so difficult in your life that you cannot go any further.

That’s when your Coach comes into the picture. She will always be there for you. Of course you will always be responsible for your own actions and thus the results but a Coach is critical for you to keep on the path and move towards your purpose.

 

So are you lacking motivation to exercise and stay healthy?

I am an athlete and I know exactly what that means and how it feels. I’ve had loads of ups and down in 20 years of competitive sports. I have also had many, many coaches who supported me along the way.

I know how to coach you so you stay motivated and you will also learn how to stay motivated even after we finish our program.

With me you have a purpose, you grow and learn and you are accountable. Of course you will also reach your goals and milestones.

 

Book a free call with me so we can talk in more detail about your purpose and goals.

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Why on earth would you want a Coach?

Why on earth would you want a Coach?

You see top athletes, Olympic athletes, World champions still being coached. Have you ever wondered why is that? They already know everything they need to know, many of them are the best in the world. What can a coach possibly help them with even more?

When you want to achieve something there are times when you need a kick in the butt. And no one is more able, motivated and caring enough than your coach to do that.

She not only prepares you physically but she gets your mind ready whether for athletic purposes or for lifting heavy life obstacles, it’s all training, it’s all conditioning.

So if athletes deserve a coach’s attention why shouldn’t you?

I’ve selected a few reasons why I believe a coach is important for everyone at any level and for, probably, any goal. There are many more though

 

1. Objectivity

When someone is emotionally involved in the completion of a goal or regarding a project they can’t see all the details or look at the problem from all possible angles.

I had a client in her late 50’s who trained with me after a few knee surgeries. She used to play tennis and wanted to get back into shape to play again. She wanted conditioning, cardio, strength and all that. However we had a sit and talked about what is most important: conditioning or preparing the body to avoid recurring injuries, to avoid another sugery. She didn’t like when I told her we need to prepare her knee, both of them even, to withstand the pressure, twisting and bending common in tennis players. Of course in time she agreed with me and saw the benefits. After less than 1 year training with me she got back into playing tennis happy and healthy.

Having a good coach gives you the assurance you work or train in the most efficient and effective way to reach you goal without causing long term injuries, or leading to other type of consequences. A coach is not influenced by personal feelings concerning your personal goals.

 

2. Accountability

I have a client who sometimes comes to our session tired and grumpy, saying that if I wasn’t waiting for her she would have given up on training a long time ago. She manages her own business, has children and a husband and many other responsibilities. She would have given up on physical exercises, on thinking about health, on everything, although after we see each other she feels rejuvenated, happy and relaxed leaving with a smile on her face. At the end of every session she feels like a different woman ready to take on her daily responsibilities.

Accountability to yourself is extremely important. However we are all human and there are tough times when we feel like giving up and if we do so we are sorry afterwards.

When you know you committed to regular meetings with your Coach you know she is waiting for you. 99% of the time you will be there no matter what.

 

3. Time saving

Look, you are able to do everything by yourself. If you are a business owner you can learn everything about accounting and never need an accountant. If you have an injury you can do your own physiotherapy, you just buy loads of books, learn and practice. You can do your own nutritional and fitness program. You can and are able to do anything if you had the time to spend on learning every little detail of that job.

A coach gives you that information PLUS the experience she’s gained coaching hundreds or even thousands of other people like yourself.

We spend hundreds and thousands of hours studying and experimenting before we teach you the proper way. Are you ready to spend as much time to make sure you don’t irreparably injure yourself?

 

4. Motivation and inspiration

As a coached athlete from the age of 8 (now 28) I know how it feels for your coach or Personal Trainer to make you do exercises and he/she standing and looking around bored or texting.

I also know how inspired and motivated you can be when you coach trains with you. Maybe not 100% of the time but even 10% makes a bit difference.

Now, as a coach myself I lead by example. I live and breathe what I teach. I will never ask you to do something I have never done or never tried at least.

Furthermore, as I am an outdoor coach how can I possibly ask you to come out in winter if I never go out alone to train myself?

The same goes for having a coach. If I wouldn’t have a coach or never had one how could I tell you to get a coach for yourself? I can’t, not in my world.

Encouragement, inspiration, positive and strong attitude are elements of a coach who will take your hand and walk the journey with you. It’s always better when you are not alone on an unknown road.

 

When in doubt get a coach