Your choices

There is a quote by Albert Camus that states, “Life is a sum of all your choices.”

What does that mean? To me, in a nutshell, everything about us is a direct result of choices we make. Our body, our health, our possessions, our beliefs our mindset. All stem from thoughts, either conscious or subconscious, and then become actions. 

Having said that, we can’t always choose what happens to us, but we can ALWAYS choose how we respond. For example, let’s say a work colleague brings in a plate of treats for the office to share. Now, you didn’t choose for them to do that, but you CAN choose wether you  let yourself indulge or not. 

You see, everything we do in life is a choice, and I think most of us realise that. But what most people don’t seem to realise is that everything we DON’T do in life is also a choice. Every day we choose to do some things and to not do other things. 

Sometimes, choosing not to do something is the wisest choice. However, there is a huge difference between choosing not to do something and choosing to do nothing. 

Most people would like to change their life in one way or another. Are there areas of your life that you would like to change?

Anytime you want to, you can change your life, but just wanting to change is not enough. You must make a choice to change. Doing nothing and wishing things would change is the course most people choose. Consequently, nothing ever changes. Disagreements, conflicts and compromises are a part of what it means to be human. Similarly, money, growing old, sickness, deaths, natural disasters and accidents are all events which present problems to virtually all human beings. But you may agree with me some people are able to make it, to avoid immobilisation, dejection and unhappiness despite such occurrences, while other collapse, become inert  or have a “Nervous Break Down.”

The thought of having a different life, or a different quality of life, is very appealing to most people. It’s easy to imagine being in better physical condition, having a more rewarding career, and enjoying more meaningful relationships. But pretending doesn’t get the job done. We have all created our present situation by the choices we made in the past. If we chose to do nothing, then our situation reflects that. Recognising that we live in a world of our own creation means that we are responsible. If we don’t like our life the way it is, then we are the ones responsible for making changes. 

Does the thought of change make you feel uncomfortable? One of the most common reasons why people are uncomfortable with change is because they haven’t yet accepted full responsibility. For some reason, it seems to be a natural tendency to shrink away from responsibility. This kind of mindset creates helplessness. It means that we are looking for change outside of ourselves. We may look to our mates to make us happy, or we may look to our careers to make us feel fulfilled. In a situation like this, if things don’t turn out the way we want, we tend to blame our mates or our careers. No one else can make you happy, that’s up to you. No career or other person can bring you satisfaction if you are dissatisfied with yourself. 

Accepting responsibility is actually a very liberating experience. Once we recognise that we are the ones in control, it makes life much simpler. As I mentioned earlier, we can’t always control what goes on around us, any more than we can control the weather. So what can we control? We can control our response to everything that happens! 

Understanding this concept is a vital key to improving the quality of your life. Whatever happens, you are in complete control of your response. You decide what value any event has in your life. Once you make an evaluation, you have the freedom to choose what comes next. 

If you’re not happy with your physical condition, make a choice to change, starting today. Too much pondering and over analysing  just allows the current situation to continue. Yes, we want to make wise choices, but we don’t want to endlessly delay making a choice as we continue searching for the best solution.

If it seems overwhelming, pick one area of your life and start there. You don’t need to dive into the deep end, but you do need to start taking action! 

Is this the missing ingredient to your results?

Today we need to let the truth out of that bag…. The truth is your health and your goals are a journey and it takes consistency, determination and persistence to reach them.

In the past we have seen so many people almost reach a goal but yet then gave up when they were so close to unlocking their true body & health potential.

So yes, consistency is Key but for today the missing ingredient is actually something that is so underrated and not looked after. I believe we treat it quite badly sometimes and we almost will allow anything to get in front of it….

The missing ingredient is SLEEP….

In this over-caffeinated, over-worked and gadget addicted society it is no wonder most of us are having trouble with getting enough sleep. In-fact researchers from Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Manchester and Surrey universities have found people are sleeping almost two fewer hours a night than they were in the 1960s. As a result, our health is deteriorating.

There is actually not one good thing about not getting enough sleep. I understand some of us have to work at it differently to others because they work shift work, or some find it sometimes impossible being new parents or have serious sleep trouble, I totally understand but for the rest of us how can we work on our sleep in 2021 to not only improve our health but to lose weight. First of all, I think we must understand the affect poor quality sleep has on our lives.

Let me talk about this first;

✨ WEIGHT GAIN

Individuals who don’t get adequate sleep are more likely to gain weight over time. Contributing to this weight gain is an increased number of calories consumed during the day, particularly high-fat foods consumed later in the evening according to the Harvard medical university

✨ INCREASED RISK OF ILLNESS

Your body is more susceptible to stress without a good night’s sleep. The immune system does not function optimally, and inflammatory proteins and blood sugar levels increase in response to lower levels of insulin being released throughout the night. Chronic short sleep duration is also associated with hypertension, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

✨ INCREASED RISK OF INJURIES

When you are exhausted, both physically and mentally, there is an increased risk of injuries, errors, and accidents. This NBCBc tired state of mind may lead to mishaps like stubbing your toe, cutting yourself in the kitchen, falling, or getting into an accident.

✨ DECLINE IN COGNITIVE FUNCTION

There are measurable changes in brain activity that occur after a period of sleep deprivation. When you do not get a sufficient amount of sleep, your mental performance suffers, impairing your ability to process new information and perform more complicated tasks. This may also impact your overall mood, focus, and high-level cognitive function. Sleep loss has been shown to impair decision making, which may lead you to make choices that you wouldn’t make if rested – this effect may be even more pronounced as we get older.

✨ INCREASED ANXIETY

Without sufficient rest, you may have trouble keeping your emotions in check. Increased feelings of irritability, anxiety, sadness, and anger are common. You may even find that you are more vulnerable to unprovoked bouts of laughter or tears.

If that doesn’t help you want to improve your sleep remember the Critical activities that happen during the sleep state

Internal organs rest and recover, allowing tissue repair, muscle growth! (yes, we want this remember) and protein synthesis primarily occur during sleep

Hormones that help regulate appetite control, stress, growth, metabolism, and other bodily functions are released. Does this not make you want to fall asleep right now?

Memory Consolidation occurs, which is essential for learning new information.

But how can we improve it when we are working 12-14-hour days have more responsibilities than ever before PLUS we want to wind down before bed by watching our favourite telly show? Well, unfortunately something must give. Perhaps you could record your favourite TV show to make sure you are getting in bed with enough time to reach 7-9 hours of sleep.

Fortunately, there are a fair few ways you can help improve your sleep and the amount you are getting;

👉🏻 Avoid high sugary snacks and caffeine in the afternoon. My general rule for clients is 2-3pm cut off time from consuming caffeine or high sugary snacks.

👉🏻 Try crowding out large meals at night time with things like yoga, journaling, reading or connecting with a loved one. Digestion requires energy. So, when you have consumed a large meal at night the body will not be able to completely rest as it digest the foods.

👉🏻 Try some carbohydrates and proteins at night.

👉🏻 Avoid late night beverages, as it will get you up in the middle of the night hindering on your sleep quality.

👉🏻 Create a bed time ritual – switching of electronics 1 hour before bed and not switching it back on an hour after waking or out it in aeroplane mode.

👉🏻 Journaling and writing down what you grateful for can help wind down. If work is playing on your mind as soon as you get home from work just write down everything that is on your mind – then disconnect from it. You can’t usually change anything until the next day anyways so there is no point worrying (this is hard but worth remembering)

👉🏻 Busy thinkers… if you think of anything jot it down in a notebook next to your bed, get it out of your head onto paper.

👉🏻 Wake up and go to bed similar times every day. Creates routine for your body clock.

I personally like to make sure my eyes have seen sunlight (not directly of course) throughout the day so my body knows oh yes it was day time even if I was stuck inside all day. I take magnesium for the many benefits it provides and melatonin if my body clock is out from traveling.

If you took one or two of these ideas to assist with your sleep, you may not only improve your health but your mood too. Remember it is consistency that trumps all, we must do something long enough to actually see a difference. Get a head start to your 2021 goals by starting with your sleep today!

😉

Channy xo

You cant outrun a bad diet..

There has long been a myth that if you exercise enough, you can eat whatever you want without implication. We’ve probably all heard someone say “I better hit the gym tomorrow after eating this burger and milkshake tonight.” However, exercise alone is not sufficient when it comes to general health, performance or weight loss. And not only does exercise burn off only a small fraction of the calories we consume (less than 10-30 percent), the quality of the calories we consume will impact our quality of exercise. For optimal health, you need to combine exercise with a nutrient-rich eating plan.

Exercise is important, but not a stand-alone solution. Let’s be clear that the role of exercise in a healthy lifestyle should not be underestimated. Not only will exercise help you build and maintain both strong muscles and bones, and help with weight loss, it can also help reduce the risk of chronic disease, and boost one’s mood, among many other benefits. The problem arises when we believe that exercise is the be-all and end-all. If one exercises because they think it will fully compensate for a bad diet, they’re in for a rude awakening. It’s much easier to consume calories than to spend them—it could take you an hour on the exercise bike to “burn off” a brownie you consumed in three minutes. You simply can’t outrun a bad diet.

It’s not as simple as calories in, calories out. While 300 calories of dessert and 300 calories of salmon do have the same energy potential, the quality of that energy source and the impact it has on your health and performance vary greatly. And because of these varying biological effects, counting all calories equally is not the optimal metric when it comes to good health or performance. Any athlete will tell you that the quality of their food directly impacts the quality of their workout, recovery, and overall health because we derive energy, satisfaction and nutrients differently from different types of food. If that wasn’t the case, and elite athletes could still perform amazingly in their chosen field while eating crap, we would run into plenty of them at your local Macca’s. 

Consider the following if you think you can eat whatever and ‘train it off’….

• 1 can of coke would require a 13 min run to burn the calories.

• 1 cheeseburger, better be prepared to run 9km to burn that sucker off!

• 1 tiny little Tim Tam, how about a 20 min run or 13 min swim! Get your goggles out!

• 1 schooner of beer, 14 min jog

• 1 medium glass of wine, 27 min walk

I could go on and on with examples. I wanted to, it was quite fun doing the research but I think you get the picture.

So the next time you think to yourself “Eating this won’t hurt me, I’ll burn it off tomorrow,” RETHINK! It’s not only your training, recovery and performance you’re hurting, but your overall health in general will suffer! 

Why you are losing muscle mass 💪🏼

This can be an all to common frustration for gym goers everywhere. You train regularly and think you’re doing everything right but you see your muscle mass has decreased slightly. That can be very frustrating and demotivating… if you let it be.

You see, this could be the thing that makes you change your perspective on your training and the way you are eating. It’s a good indication that something needs to change. So we wanted to run through the main reasons you could be losing muscle mass.

There are two things we need to focus on, the two biggest things that lead us to progress in whatever our health and fitness goals are: DIET and TRAINING.

First let’s talk PROTEIN. The first thing you have to do is hit your protein goal. So, how much protein? I’m going to average it out and go on the high end of female clients and the low end of male clients and say 150 grams per day as an example. What does that look like? 

Breakfast: 3 eggs – 18 grams protein

Lunch: 200g chicken breast – 50 grams protein

Dinner: 200g beef – 45 grams protein

Snack: 1 scoop protein powder – 25 grams

Snack: 1 single serving greek yogurt – 15 grams

Total protein: 153 grams

If you’re struggling with getting enough protein into your diet, start by looking at your breakfast and lunch. These two meals tend to be lower in protein. Then, start adjusting the rest of your diet. Now, in an ideal world you would be consuming a liquid protein immediately after your training. This is something we encourage every client to do. After training is when your muscles are most responsive to amino acid. So bring your protein powder to the gym and get it down! 

The next area to look at is calories. Muscle mass uses a lot of energy (relative to other tissues), so your body only wants to build muscle mass if it absolutely has to AND you supply enough energy (calories) and building blocks (protein) for it to do so. 

If you are eating less total calories than is required, you can forget about putting on muscle mass very fast, especially if you can’t hit your protein goal. You simply are not supplying the body with enough food to make progress. If you hit your protein goal consistently, you should maintain your current muscle mass. 

So now let’s talk about training? 

To start off, if you’re not training hard enough, you’re not going to see the results you want to see. We are not telling you to kill yourself in the gym or that you have to squat 250kgs, but there is a very basic concept called progressive overload that you must follow( go read our previous blog post on thi)

What this means is you gradually increase intensity over time. A common example would be if you can squat 50kg for 10 reps this week, next week you should either increase the weight for the same number of reps (55kg for 10 reps) or do more reps at the same weight (50kg for 12 reps). 

If you’ve been working out for a little while now, the same concept holds true. The only difference might be that you progress each month instead of each week. So, you might do 100kg on a bar deadlift for 10 reps this month, and it might take you a month to be able to beat that. 

If you’re still lifting the same weights you were a few months ago, don’t expect any changes. You have to keep progressing in some fashion (doesn’t have to be total kilo’s lifted).

Now to switch gears. Overtraining is another way to lose muscle mass. When you workout, you are breaking down the muscle tissue and you actually leave the gym weaker than when you first walked in. When you give the body adequate time, calories, and protein to recover, you end up recovering and becoming stronger. (Hence why we bang on about rest and not doing doubles)

But if you are working out hard all the time (5+ days a week), you might not give your body enough time to recover if you’re pushing every workout. You should only have two or three, at most four, really hard workouts per week, with the rest of the workouts being a little lighter to facilitate recovery. And that number would be determined by how optimally you recover. For me, with sleep being of a lesser quality right now since becoming a parent and going through house renovations, I will only push hard for three sessions per week. This than will give me a chance to recover well enough for the next session. 

In terms of training, you need to push yourself and make sure you are making progress by increasing your weights or reps. But don’t go overboard by doing way too much and setting yourself up for burnout or injury. Longevity is key.

Again, this isn’t about gaining lots of muscle mass or building the strength to bench press 300 kilograms, so following this advice won’t make you “bulky.”

Building lots of muscle mass takes a lot of effort both inside and outside the gym, so unless you’re the genetic 0.01% who lack the myostatin gene plus have a few other genetic variations going for you, you’re not going to put on slabs of muscle unless you really want to. (Girls that goes for you too, you will NOT look like a man)

Between keeping track of your protein/calorie intake and monitoring how and how much you’re training, and how well you’re recovering, you’ll be able to reach your goals and keep building or maintaining your muscle mass!

Team Techno!

Extrinsic and Intrinsic Motivation

What drives us to do the things we do? What is it that pushes us to accomplish things? A simple answer would be personal gain, but the question is much more complex than that. There are many ways to look at the concept of motivation, one of which is to examine motivation examples. 

A key ability of successful people is that they know how to motivate themselves effectively. The skill of being able to start and finish tasks rigorously is what solidifies their chances at being successful overall. But what kind of motivation is most important? Is it motivation that arises from outside the individual (extrinsic), or motivation that arises from inside the individual (intrinsic)? 

There are benefits to both types of motivation, each with their own set of respective effects on behaviours and how people choose to pursue goals. In order to understand how these types of motivation influence human action and a drive for success, we must first understand what each one is. 

What is Extrinsic Motivation? 

Simply put, extrinsic motivation refers to the behaviour of individuals to perform tasks and learn new skills because of external rewards or avoidance of punishment. In this case, you engage in behaviour not because you enjoy it or because you find it appealing or satisfying, but in order to obtain something of value in return or avoid something unpleasant. Let’s take a look at some extrinsic motivation examples: 

Extrinsic Motivation Examples 

1. Going to work because you want to earn money

2. Studying because you want to get a good grade

3. Helping others because you hope for praise

4. Volunteering because it looks good on a resume

5. Going to the same store because you benefit from loyalty programs

6. Cleaning your apartment because you do not want your partner to get mad

7. Going to new places because you want to post it on social media

8. Paying taxes because you want to avoid a fine

9. Pursuing a certain degree because you want to make your parents proud

10. Going on a business trip because you were ordered by your boss to do so

What is Intrinsic Motivation? 

Intrinsic motivation refers to the act of doing something that does not have any obvious external rewards. You do it because it’s enjoyable and interesting to you, not because of any outside incentive or pressures, like rewards or deadlines. In short, intrinsic motivation is performing an activity for its own sake rather than the desire for some external reward or out of some external pressure. Essentially, the behavior itself is its own reward.  

Intrinsic motivation is more about personal growth, a sense of duty, and the recognition of purpose, while extrinsic motivation is more about financial incentives, status, and public recognition. Let’s look at some intrinsic motivation examples: 

Intrinsic Motivation Examples 

1. Playing sports because you enjoy how they make you feel

2. Staying longer at work because you believe in your work

3. Using positive affirmations because you want to change your mindset positively

4. Investing money because you want to become financially independent

5. Traveling because you want to explore different cultures

6. Working in a team because you enjoy collaboration

7. Learning about personal development because you want to improve yourself

8. Going to the playground with your children because it makes you happy

9. Studying because you are curious about the topics

10. Trying to be a good leader because you want to inspire

Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivation 

Intrinsic motivation comes from within, while extrinsic motivation arises from external factors. When you are intrinsically motivated, you engage in an activity because you enjoy it and get personal satisfaction from doing it. When you are extrinsically motivated, you do something in order to gain an external reward. 

Consider the way each type considers both motivation and goals: 

Intrinsic Motivation: 

• You are motivated to do the activity because it is internally rewarding. You choose to do it because it’s fun, enjoyable, and satisfying.

• Your goal comes from within, and the outcomes of your goal satisfy your basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness.

Extrinsic Motivation: 

• You are motivated to do the activity in order to gain an external reward in return.

• Your goal is focused on an outcome, and does not satisfy your basic psychological needs. Rather, it involves external gains, such as money, fame, power, and avoiding consequences.

You have likely experienced both types of motivation throughout your entire life, and often, the goal of your motivations can remain the same regardless of whether the outcome is something internal or external. These extrinsic and intrinsic motivation examples illustrate this idea: 

Intrinsic Extrinsic Participating in a sport because it’s fun and you enjoy it. Participating in a sport in order to win a reward or get physically fit. Learning a new language because you like experiencing new things. Learning a new language because your job requires it. Spending time with someone because you enjoy their company. Spending time with someone because they can further your social standing. Cleaning because you enjoy a tidy space. Cleaning to avoid making your partner angry. Playing cards because you enjoy the challenge. Playing cards to win money. Exercising because you enjoy physically challenging your body. Exercising because you want to lose weight or fit into an outfit. Volunteering because it makes you feel content and fulfilled. Volunteering in order to meet a school or work requirement. Going for a run because you find it relaxing or are trying to beat a personal record. Going for a run to increase your chances at winning a competition. Painting because it makes you feel calm and happy. Painting so you can sell your art to make money. Taking on more responsibility at work because you enjoy being challenged and feeling accomplished. Taking on more responsibility at work in order to receive a raise or promotion.

Which is Best: Extrinsic or Intrinsic Motivation? 

Each person is different, and what motivates us and our perspectives of rewards are also different. Some are inherently more intrinsically motivated by tasks, while others see the same activities extrinsically.  

While both can be effective, most agree with the idea that extrinsic rewards should be used less in order to minimize the over justification effects. This phenomenon refers to the findings that offering excessive external rewards for what is already an internally rewarding behaviour can lead to a reduction in intrinsic motivation. 

This is not to say that extrinsic motivation always presents negative outcomes. In fact, it can be extremely beneficial in some situations, those where someone needs to complete a task that they find unpleasant. Excessive rewards may be problematic, but when used appropriately, extrinsic motivating factors can be a useful tool.  

There are several factors that can work to promote intrinsic motivation. By focusing efforts on these factors when introducing intrinsic motivations, you will see how beneficial intrinsic motivation can be. These factors include but are not limited to: 

• Curiosity: Fostered curiosity pushed people to explore and learn for the sole pleasure of learning and mastering.

• Challenge: Being challenged helps people to work at optimal levels continuously, while staying consistent in working towards meaningful goals.

• Recognition: People have an innate desire to be appreciated, so when efforts are recognized and appreciated by others, satisfaction becomes a reward in and of itself.

• Cooperation: Cooperating with others satisfies the need to belong. It also presents the reward of satisfaction, because cooperation involves helping others and working together towards a shared goal.

Final Thoughts 

While intrinsic motivation is often seen as ideal due to its sustainability and the inherent nature of its rewards, both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation are influential in driving behaviour. In order to understand how these can be best utilized, it is important to understand their key differences and the optimal times to employ each method.  

Cycles of training

Today post is all about the cycles of training or our training program at Technofunc. This is somthing that I believe in the Fitness Industry we don’t hear enough about!

This has to do with most people who start out not knowing any science based information about training, training phases, progressive overload, just to name a few. you may think im going to go all in and give it everything i have without a rest day this week. do i need to work out at a high intensity every session? Do i need to just lift weight and if so how much? Whats the difference in each class and why should i focus on one more than the other? Whats the difference in training for fat loss or muscle gain?

All of these have to do with the cycles or phases of training…But what are they you might be thinking?

Essentially they are phases. Phases in which you train and are done for a specific goal.

Take our new Dynamic class program for example. These will be done over a period of an 8 week training cycle we work the entire body using High Intensity Resistance Training techniques that allow you to hit compound movements aka- larger muscle groups for our Classes and also for the Metabolic Complex’s on Saturday’s. We have partnered this strength with conditioning on Wednesday’s and Saturdays the Red room for MAXIMUM Fat Burn which allows you to burn calories, move your body in different ways and focus on speed, agility, strength and power!

We have broken these phases into Semesters! Currently we have started Semester 1 at Technofunc and our focus here is building strength from head to toe with a training spilt of Upper body, Lower body and 2 Fullbody classes.

Throughout the year, you may have a certain goal to work towards. Maybe it’s running a marathon, or fitting in to a nice dress or bikini for summer. Perhaps you simply want to feel confident for a special event. Whatever it may be, there’s always something to work for. And during that time, your training is going to focus on reaching it.

Look at elite athletes- there are periods when their training goes above and beyond in order to prepare them for an event or season. But after that, they enter what is known as an “off-season” to help them recover. It also helps to keep them from burning out after the intense training season.

But for the rest of us, what do we do?
Find another goal.
Maybe school, uni or tafe started, or your work schedule has changed. Your goal may then come to focus on training for maximum results with the least amount of time.

However, what if something came out of left field, and you’ve found yourself injured? Once again, your training is going to change. You’re going to be focusing on recovering from the injury, as well as modifying your training around it.
That is the whole point of the cycles.

However, I should add that understanding and practicing the concept of training cycles comes after setting a basic foundation for your training. With us it’s Technofunc weekly workout schedule- 2 strength classes (Dynamic) 1 endurance cardio class (Hype) , 1 High Intensity Resistance Class (Amplify) 1 Performance class (Exhilarate) and one Metabolic Complex class ( Complex) , this is a 6 day training block, however… we recommend 4-5 times depending on your goals. We highly recommend 2 full recovery days.

For someone else, that could be cross-training for a sport. Or pilates and yoga. Whatever it may be, the foundation is always there. Afterwards, you can tweak the intensity, duration, and variety. So establish the basics with your foundation that helps you to look, feel, and perform at your best. After that, you’ll be able to manipulate your “cycles” like the seasons to suit your lifestyle and things happening in your life, instead of just stopping and starting constantly and using setbacks as an opportunity out!

Channy 💪🏼

BUILD OR BURN

At Technofunc what we offer is classified as individualised group training. Each week our schedule offers a different combination of build and burn purpose built classes to be tailored around your goals. This is where YOU can create your perfect training schedule based on your goals. You can blend our Dynamic Strength classes with our fat torching conditioning classes, Amplify or Complex for the perfect vehicle to get you to your results. It doesn’t have to stop there though, you can incorporate our Hype and Exhilarate for performance stamina, fitness, speed, reaction and endurance and plyometric fast twitch release.

Understanding how our programming works and what each class does and how it will benefit you is crucial to your results and your routine. This will allow you to have structure in your training plan, and know exactly what you are aiming for instead of just turning up to any class and just doing the class, not knowing the purpose or how it is benefiting you.

So first lets talk about the BUILD PROGRAM…

If the BURN program is what you are focusing on our suggestion is to start with a HYPE, AMPLIFY, EXHILARATE and COMPLEX training schedule of 4 days per week. Hype and Exhilarate will focus on your performance of fitness level and send your metabolism into overdrive while Amplify and Complex will do this too, however they have the added strength which will allow you to maintain as much muscle mass as possible while doing a burn program. We recommend 4 days per week as this will allow you to get maximum burn within our cardio/ performance classes. In these classes we also recommend getting a HR monitor or Fitness Watch of some sort to track your performance and see where you are getting better.

If the BUILD program is what you are focusing on our suggestion is to start with DYNAMIC, AMPLIFY and COMPLEX 4 days per week. This will solely focus on building lean muscle mass and you will get your fitness from the conditioning aspects of these classes.

If you are looking for more and love cardio our other suggestion would be to add in an EXHILARATE class to the BUILD program. This allows you to focus on fast twitch muscle fibres and plyometric methods of training which in turn will help stimulate and grow more muscle mass. We would recommend leaving out HYPE for endurance cardio as this work period and class design is all about long work periods, endurance and stamina which doesn’t build lean muscle mass.

We are open 6 days a week, allowing you to set your training schedule based on the days you can train, the classes that align with your goals and also what you enjoy. Remember everyone starts somewhere. Everyone was once a beginner. Get you Individualised program set and create consistency and the rest will fall into place.

The importance of community

There is a saying that goes “ you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with” and in todays blog i am going to dive into this with a big focus on community, comparison and gymintimidation.

Healthy relationships are so vital for our health and wellbeing. Within our Technofunc community it is really important to make sure that those relationships are built between the staff and the customers, community also means positive relationships between the members themselves. Additionally, people motivate as well as challenge each other to take part in the workouts and work towards their fitness goals. Overall, the real meaning of community to us is to make people feel welcome as soon as they walk in the door.

Take a look at your relationships you hold and ask yourself are they healthy or unhealthy? Have you become to heavily influenced by any of those people? Do these relationships focus on belittling other people or praising and supporting them? Do any of these relationships impact other relationships you have?

Your Relationships should:

• Challenge you but not completely change you

• Build confidence but not cockiness

• Impact you to impact others in a good way

• Motivate you to be the best version of yourself

So what is the meaning of community within Technofunc?

In a strong community culture the manager/s and the instructors having an invested interest in the success of their members. The staff should create an atmosphere in which EVERYONE is comfortable and confident they can reach their fitness goals, not just single people out. We have always had at the forefront of our vision to create a healthy happy community so that everyone feels welcomed and heard no matter their age, gender and or capabilities. This starts with communication. This is something I personally myself have been working hard on to bring some new services and systems to Technofunc for ALL Of our members, not just our challengers.

For many, a group fitness facility, let alone a normal gym can be a really intimidating and scary place, so our goal is to create and keep that welcoming community feel.

Fitness is SO MUCH MORE than the physical aspect. In fact, it’s more about obtaining peace of mind and mental clarity once the class is over. In the end, a supportive community is such a place where people of various ages and backgrounds come together to carry out their workout routine. They all also have the goal in mind which is just to BE BETTER and this will lead me into my next topic…

GYMINTIMIDATION is a real thing…. and being a GYMTIMIDATOR is also a real thing…

Those of us who have always felt comfortable at the gym may not even know that gymtimidation is a thing.

Be part of creating a welcoming environment…

If you can lift heavy on a certain lift or hit a PB, great.. Well done, celebrate that shit. BUT do it in a manner that is going to make the next person doesn’t feel like they aren’t lifting “enough” or that they are beneath you because they aren’t at that weight…

If you consider yourself capable and like to add things to make an exercise harder, but you see the newbie behind you watching you and struggling to follow along when they get to that station, consider dropping all the fancy add-ons for a little while so that they can follow you.

Finally, make sure that you aren’t going around and commenting on people’s bodies and workouts, effort and commitment because it makes you feel like a good person. THIS IS NOT ABOUT YOU. While you’re at it, make sure that you’re not “congratulating” people for not being the stereotype you expected them to be. That is very much about you — which is to say that it’s an opportunity to examine your own biases.

The second thing we need to remember is that our presence in the gym makes a difference but it can make a good or a bad difference. Your very presence may help reduce the gymtimidation that someone might have to experience themselves. 

REMEMBER WHY YOU ARE HERE….

Along the way we all make new friendships, get results and form relationships, but its also really important to put those aside and get back to the core reason and your core values of why you are here? Did you join to make friends? or did you join to work on yourself, for yourself to be the best version of yourself?

Everyone is entitled to own their results, however there is a fine line to boast about it and make other people feel inferior. Each day is a new day to work on yourself. Each day is a day to get better than you were yesterday. Comparison is the thief of joy so my final message is DONT compare yourself to the person next to you or to you friend because you aren’t them, and you never will be them. You will always be able to be inspired by them which is fine, but focus on you. Focus on what you can do and what you have achieved and disregard the rest as we are all on this journey together and we are all equal..

Cheers,

Channy xo

Fuel your body for success....

The important thing to remember for this early stage of the challenge is to be fuel your body with the right foods. Do not starve yourself!

What and when you eat can have a profound impact on your energy levels. Eat the wrong thing at the wrong time, and you can end up feeling flat and craving for the wrong foods will soon follow. Many of us stumble through our days feeling half asleep – dependant on coffee and sugary snacks.

And finding the energy to exercise? Forget about it!

By paying attention and being more mindful of what you eat, you can change this cycle for the better!

Carbohydrates – your body’s energy source It’s important that you understand the role carbohydrates plays in energy production. Carbohydrates, foods such as rice, potatoes, pasta, bread, and cereals, is broken down into glucose when you eat it. That glucose is your body’s preferred source of energy. The more active you are, the more glucose your body wants and needs

. However, there are different types of carbohydrate, and each one is metabolised at different speeds. For example, simple carbs like fruits and sugary snacks are metabolised more quickly. This means that soon after eating them they are converted to glucose and dumped into your blood. That’s good news if you are about to exercise and need quick energy but not so good if you are working away at your computer. If you are exercising, those fast-acting carbs will be used by your muscles. This will lower your blood glucose levels and return them to normal – eating fast acting carbs increases your blood glucose levels very quickly, but exercise brings them down again.

However, if you eat a lot of fast-acting carbs while you are sedentary, your body produces a lot of insulin to lower your blood glucose in place of exercise. Insulin drives the glucose out of your blood and into your muscles and liver. Unfortunately, insulin can be a bit too efficient and can lower your blood glucose levels too far. This can leave you feeling lethargic and low in energy. That’s why chocolate gives you a quick burst of energy but then also makes you feel tired afterward.

In contrast, slower-acting carbs such as starches increase your blood glucose levels more slowly. Because of this, your body produces much less insulin and, subsequently, you won’t experience such a dip in energy and blood glucose levels. Instead, your blood glucose levels will remain stable, and your energy levels will stabilise too. This is great if you intend to be sedentary but could leave you a little flat if you need quick energy for exercise.

Making carbs work for you:

To maximise your energy levels, adjust your carbohydrate intake to reflect your activity levels – the more physically active you are, the more carbs you need. Also, make sure you consume slow acting starches most of the time and only consume fast acting sugars just before and after exercise. This strategy will help stabilise your blood sugar levels which is the key to maintaining your energy levels.

What about fat and protein:

Fat and protein are also necessary for energy, but they don’t tend to affect your energy levels as dramatically. Fat, for example, is broken down in the presence of oxygen to provide energy but even the leanest person has plenty of stored fat which means this energy source is never in short supply. Protein can also be used for energy, but it’s very rare your body does this. Neither fat nor protein has much of an impact on your energy levels although both are still essential nutrients.

Don’t forget vitamins and minerals:

Without vitamins and minerals, your body would find it very hard to unlock and utilise the energy in food. Natural foods (that have undergone minimal processing) are usually rich in the vitamins and minerals that allow your body to make good use of the energy they contain. In contrast, processed foods are stripped of most of their vitamins and minerals, and while these foods do contain calories, that energy is less accessible and is more likely to be stored as fat. While two foods could conceivably provide the same number of calories – an apple and a cookie for example – the unprocessed apple is the better source of energy.

This is because as well as calories, it also contains the vitamins and minerals necessary for the effective breakdown of energy.

Without vitamins and minerals, your body has a much harder time making use of the energy in your food.

Coach Channy 💪🏼

Earn your Carbs…

After you workout at Technofunc your body is like a FAT BURNING FURNACE waiting to be fuelled with Carbs….. So what are FREE MEALS and what are WORKOUT EARNED MEALS?

1. FM

Free Meal – these type of meals are low in carbs, mostly based around veggies, protein, and healthy fats. You can pick any of our FM recipes and enjoy them at any time of any day.

Fruit low in GI such as berries, apples, pears, kiwi, grapefruit, tangerines, oranges, cherries, peaches and apricots are ok to have in moderation. 1 portion = 1 cupped hand for one meal.

If you bake with almond or coconut flour instead of regular flour, you can still enjoy many delicious baked goods including bread, pizza, pasta, muffins, cupcakes, and sugar free chocolate cakes.

Use erythritol or stevia as a sugar substitute. You can also use a little amount of agave when baking and still have it be an FM.

FM/WEM

Boiled potatoes do not raise your blood sugar levels as much and can help with weight loss. Reheated boiled potatoes are even better! The same with legumes. Yes they are high in carbs, but they both contain a fair amount of fiber and don’t rank high on the glycemic index. There are a few other whole foods that could be in this category, but that also depends on your own diet your personal carb tolerance.

2. WEM

Workout Earned Meals are those that we have to earn with my workout. you have probably been told to follow the classic 2-3 post workout hour window, but recent research shows that carb timing is not as important as the total amount of carbs we eat over the course of the entire day. Since starchy carbs can slow down your fat loss efforts, we suggest you include them on your high intensity workout days.

Whole grains, potatoes (baked or fried), sweet potatoes (baked or fried), pasta, rice, quinoa, legumes, oats, wheat, bread, chocolate and other sweets, fruit high in sugar such as bananas, mango, pineapple and other exotic fruits. In other words, if you don’t do your workout, you don’t have these type of meals.

Here are some benefits of low carb diets:

1. It’s the most effective treatment known against metabolic syndrome

2. Reduced insulin and blood sugar levels with a major improvement in Type 2 Diabetes.

3. Increased levels of HDL – the good cholesterol.

4. More of the fat loss comes from the abdominal cavity.

Having a lot of visceral fat that tends to lodge in that area and around your organs can be the major cause of inflammation, insulin resistance, and a leading driver of the metabolic dysfunction that is so common in western society.

5. Effective way to reduce blood pressure.

Hypertension (high blood pressure) is an important risk factor in diseases that include stroke, kidney failure, heart disease, etc.

6. Easier weight loss, however you can’t look at this as a diet, but a lifestyle.

Channy

xo

Transformation Challenge

Quite often when embarking on a body transformation or health related journey, there can come a point where we find yourself kind of just moseying on through or just going through the motions, especially if we’re tackling it on our own. 

You know how it is. At the start, we’re full of determination and drive. Nothing is going to stand in our way. The motivation is at an ALL TIME HIGH. At the beginning, we are totally committed. Then, life happens. Perhaps you lose focus due to work or family commitments. Or maybe you begin to lose a little belief in your goal and your ability to achieve it because at first it seemed easy but once you begin you realise that you actually have to work hard. Or, the results we initially attain begin to stall so you become discouraged. Whatever the reason/s may be, it can be an all too familiar trend. 

The good news is, a challenge could be exactly what you need to kick your butt into some new found motivation and drive, therefore, RESULTS! In my experience, regardless of fitness levels or years training etc, EVERYONE will have some shit they don’t like and want to WORK ON, that will not only provide a spark to our inner drive, but more than likely kickstart some new body shape changes. And how good would that feel?! 

But is it only about the physical? Is it only about what the scale says? Is it only about body fat percentage or muscle gain? NOT AT ALL! A good quality transformation challenge, like the Technofunc 6 Week Challenge, will delve a little deeper. It should focus on setting solid foundations of health. By that I mean it needs to have you focus on mastering the basics. The basics are what lead to amazing results. The quick fixes may (and I use that term loosely) work in the short term, but where do they leave you in the long run? Usually back where you started. Or worse, even further back from where you started. They are NOT sustainable

So what are the basics? I’ll tell you what they aren’t… they aren’t complex! It could be as simple as hitting a daily step target, drinking enough water, getting enough quality sleep, tracking the food you eat, increasing vegetables and fruit or showing more gratitude. All of these things are setting you up for better health, in the long term. And THAT is crucial! 

So what are some benefits of getting involved in a challenge? Well, as I stated above, it could provide the small spark you need to get your butt into gear! Let’s say you’ve been doing ok. Your training is going well, nutrition is pretty good but deep down you know you could ’tweak’ a few things to make it better. A challenge is perfect for this!

So here are my top reasons why challenges are good and can help you find that health and fitness spark:

1. Speaking of Your Goals

People are more likely to follow through on objectives when they’ve thought about them, collated their ideas and written down their goals. If you take this major step and give yourself some concrete achievements to work towards, you’re much more likely to see them through.

2    Challenges Are Habit Forming

Why? Because they last weeks or even months. Getting into the routine of working out and building new patterns can take weeks. At first you dread it, you slog through, then a place has been made in your schedule, in your life, it’s what you expect to do everyday–it’s part of the plan. Once you work it in and plant it deep, you’ve got something you know how to sustain and your body will ask for each day–a habit.

3    Positive Reinforcement 

Goal setting is an important part of any transformation challenge because it gives you milestones, small accomplishments to celebrate along the way, and who couldn’t use some positive reinforcement when they’re really working hard to make changes in life? So, celebrate the milestones and let them spur you on!

4    You’re Going to Learn New Skills in a Challenge

You’ll get tips on eating healthy, new ideas for workouts, you’ll probably take some classes you hadn’t looked at before. You’ll get a variety of new tools for the tool box, so that when the challenge is over, you can keep building, keep the momentum going, instead of stalling out when your routine starts to feel stale and uninspiring. 

5    The Community

When you join a transformation challenge, often you do it with other people, you form teams and compete against other teams. Committing to a team or even one other person to do something on a regular basis gives you a sense of accountability, and accountability is a very good thing in your get-fit, weight loss goals. Research shows that people who have workout partners succeed in their fitness and weight-loss goals MUCH more often than those who go it alone. You don’t want to let down the team, right? You want to contribute! Be accountable and stay the course, and you’ll see results!

6    All Those Friends You’ll Find in The Trenches Will Lift You UP

They’ll encourage you when you think it’s just too hard, you don’t have time, you’re too tired, etc. Those people will be your biggest cheerleaders and you’ll be theirs. There’s nothing like being fully supported to help a person succeed. 

7    You’ll Have Such a Feeling of Accomplishment 

You did it! You stayed the course, worked harder than you thought you could, lost weight and took a big step toward a healthier future. What could be better than that?!

8    Last But Not Least… YOU’LL BE HEALTHIER! 

And really, isn’t that what this is all about? With health comes a sense of well being and lessening of stress. Think of that morning run as a chase after your healthier self and pick up the pace!

So whether you’re at the start of your health journey or a seasoned campaigner looking to re-motivate yourself, a challenge could be just what you need!

Reverse Dieting - Precision Nutrition

Generally, we don’t recommend eating like a bodybuilder.

All the macro counting, weighing and measuring, restrictive food options, and precise nutrient timing… it just doesn’t make sense for most people.

For weeks leading up to a competition, bodybuilders follow super restrictive diets, which gets them abs you could grate cheese on, but has the unfortunate side effect of slowing their metabolisms. (We’ll explain why a little later.)

If they tried to maintain this approach after competitions, the hunger would eventually become overwhelming. Competitive bodybuilders also usually try to pack on as much muscle as they can during the off season, and that’s nearly impossible when you’re on a low-calorie diet.

The alternative: Reverse dieting.

Smart bodybuilders slowly reverse their pre-competition diet by strategically and incrementally increasing their portions, an approach first popularised by Layne Norton, PhD.1

Basically, they reverse the steps they took to get competition ready, one nutritional step at a time. And they also usually gradually reduce cardio and focus on strength training.

This allows their metabolism to adjust upward over time. (Again, we’ll go deeper into metabolism in a moment.)

Eventually, they hit a calorie intake where they feel energised, are performing well in the gym, and are gaining some muscle—all while minimising fat gain.

Reverse dieting may be the exception to our “avoid bodybuilding diets” rule.

You can see how reverse dieting might apply to the general population.

Weight loss is notoriously difficult to maintain. Most people end up regaining what they lost, and sometimes more.2

Why? For many reasons, but here’s just one: When you reduce calories and your body size shrinks, your metabolism eventually slows.

That means you must cut more calories to keep the fat loss going.

And all too often, by the time someone reaches their goal, the amount of calories they can eat to maintain their weight doesn’t translate to a lot of food. It feels paltry and incredibly difficult to stick to.

As a result, additional calories creep back in and the number on the scale starts to rise.

So they diet again.

And on the yo-yo cycle goes.

But if instead they slowly, intentionally, and strategically add the right number of calories over time, they’ll be more likely to maintain their fat loss long-term.

How does reverse dieting work?

We know. We know. This all probably sounds a little hocus pocus abracadabra. Bear with us. There’s some science to back this all up, but before we can dive in, we need to cover the concept of energy balance.

Simply put:

• When you eat more energy (calories) than you burn, you gain weight.

• When you eat less energy than you burn, you lose weight.

Many people know this concept by another name: calories in, calories out (CICO).

Some people debate whether CICO and energy balance are valid, but only because they misunderstand a key point.

The energy balance equation is simple, but, as you can see below, many factors affect energy in and energy out.

These factors go way beyond food and exercise. Factors people often overlook—food absorption, stress, genetics, and metabolic adaptation (described below)—have the potential to tip the energy balance “scale” in either direction.

Reverse dieting seems to work through one of the factors that can impact energy balance: metabolic adaptation.

One type of metabolic adaptation is known as the body’s “starvation response.” (This is different from the fabled “starvation mode,” by the way, which isn’t really a thing.)

Obesity is a global health issue now, but it wasn’t always that way. Starvation, on the other hand, has been a very real threat to humankind for hundreds of thousands of years.

So when you eat less, your body instinctively starts preparing for famine in several ways:

• Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) declines. That’s the amount of energy you need to live when at rest. This reduces energy out.

• Exercise becomes more difficult because you have less available energy. (If you’ve ever tried to do an intense workout on a low-calorie diet, you know what we’re talking about.) So you’re likely to burn fewer calories through activity.

• You also expend less energy through exercise because, as your body gets smaller, it doesn’t require as much fuel—and your metabolism also adapts to make you more efficient. This also reduces the number of calories you burn through movement, resulting in less energy out.

• Daily activity outside of workouts (think: pacing while you’re on a phone call, walking to your car, fidgeting) lessens, resulting in reduced energy out from non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT).3

• Digestion slows, so your body can absorb as many nutrients as possible. This increases energy in.

Because of this adaptive response, someone who has dieted down may need 5 to 15 percent fewer calories per day to maintain the same weight and physical activity level as someone who has always been that weight.4

And if someone’s lost an extreme amount of weight? The percent drop in calorie needs becomes more extreme, too.5

(Hey, no one ever said diets were fair).

The silver lining?

Metabolic adaptation works both ways.

If you increase your calories gradually, your body will adapt in the other direction. This phenomenon is known as adaptive thermogenesis, which basically means your body wastes calories as heat.

When done properly, reverse dieting provides several metabolic benefits:

• BMR rises, resulting in more energy out.

• Workout capacity increases thanks to more available energy, increasing energy out.

• NEAT increases for the same reason, resulting in more energy out.

• Digestion returns to normal, so your GI tract is no longer squeezing every bit of sustenance from every morsel, decreasing energy in.

Pretty cool, right?

But in order to get this effect, it’s important to add calories slowly. That’s primarily because the body seems to respond differently to varying rates of “overfeeding.” (That’s the word researchers use to describe eating beyond your calorie needs.)

In one study, eating 20 percent above maintenance calories did not significantly increase fat gain, whereas eating 40 to 60 percent above maintenance did.6

In other words, if you maintain your weight on a 2000-calorie diet, you might be able to eat up to 400 extra calories a day without seeing a big impact on the scale.

But an extra 800 daily calories? It’s probably going to weigh you down.

Additionally, some data suggest that the time people need to “recover” from dieting is roughly proportional to the amount of time they spent dieting.7

So if you restrict calories for six months, you may need to give your metabolism six months to adjust.

This is just one of the many reasons…

Reverse dieting isn’t magical.

Reverse dieting has gained miracle status in some corners of the internet as a way to eat more to lose weight.

That makes it seem like reverse dieting flies in the face of the energy balance equation and the laws of thermodynamics. This is not the case.

Can you lose weight while reverse dieting? Yes. 

But it’s still always because increased “energy in” results in increased “energy out.” 

In our experience, reverse dieting can absolutely work—but not for everyone, in the same way, in all conditions, 100 percent of the time.

There are three important caveats to acknowledge here.

Caveat #1: There are no guarantees.

As much as we’d like to think people are spreadsheets and that all of this comes down to simple math, there’s much variability from person to person.

Here’s an example: In one study conducted at the Mayo Clinic, researchers brought 16 normal-weight people into a lab for eight weeks. They served them huge meals that provided 1,000 extra calories each day.

That’s the equivalent of eating about two double cheeseburgers a day on top of your usual noshing. Plus, the participants were instructed not to exercise.8

If you do calorie math, everyone should have gained 16 pounds in eight weeks.

In reality, they gained anywhere from under one pound to about nine pounds.

The biggest predictor of adaptation, or gaining less weight? Increased NEAT.

Some people’s bumped up majorly, and their weight barely changed. Others had much more modest increases, and they ended up gaining more.

In reverse dieting, the hope is that your body and metabolism will adjust via NEAT and other mechanisms. But the degree of adjustment—and whether any adjustment happens at all—varies from person to person.

Plus…

Caveat #2: Age affects our ability to adapt.

“Wow, I can keep eating more and more and never gain weight?!” said no post-menopausal woman ever.

All jokes aside, metabolism naturally declines with age.

Unless you strength train consistently, you lose five to 10 pounds of metabolically active muscle per decade starting when you’re 25 to 30.

That continues in a pretty linear fashion.

So the same reverse dieting protocol that worked for a 20 year old isn’t going to work in the same way when they’re 40 or 65.

Caveat #3: Reverse dieting assumes you’re reasonably sure of your calorie intake.

We say reasonably sure because calorie counting is imprecise.

There’s no way to be 100 percent sure of your calorie intake outside of a lab. So the goal is to have a good enough gauge on how much you can currently eat without gaining.

That’s because reverse dieting requires very small changes in calorie intake over time. Often as few as 50 to 100 calories a day. That’s the difference of approximately 0.5 to 1 tablespoon of peanut butter, for reference.

It’s basically impossible to hit those numbers exactly. But anyone who counts calories, macros, and/or hand portions is going to do a much better job than someone who eyeballs it.

Consistency also matters. It’s possible that someone who eats more calories some days than others would be able to reverse diet. But it’d be pretty difficult to get that slow, steady increase in energy needed to do it properly.

To be clear, reverse dieting is a somewhat advanced method.

In order to do it effectively, you need to be willing to:

• eat roughly the same amount of food each day.

• measure your food intake.

• adjust your physical activity up or down, depending on your goals.

• acknowledge that it may not work for you.

3 situations ideal for reverse dieting

Caveats notwithstanding, reverse dieting might be a good approach in three specific situations.

Situation #1: “I want to eat more without gaining weight.”

We’ve already covered this one. Gradually increasing calorie intake can help to turn up the metabolic heat for people who’ve slashed calories to get the scale to go down.

But can the technique work for non-dieters?

Say someone just wants to be able to enjoy social situations, needs more nutrients for health and performance, and/or wouldn’t mind welcoming more calorie-dense foods (think: avocado, nut butters, coconut cream, the occasional donut) into their lives?

For those people, reverse dieting probably won’t work as effectively as it would for someone whose metabolism has slowed due to long-term dieting.

There are limits to how much metabolism can heat up and cool down. If someone is already pretty metabolically healthy, there’s (theoretically) less room to shift up.

The takeaway: If someone’s been dieting for a long time and is ready to maintain their current level of body fat, reverse dieting can help increase maintenance calories, resulting in a more sustainable way of eating long-term.

Situation #2: “I’m eating 1,200 calories a day and not losing weight.”

Let’s get one thing out of the way: A lot of times, when someone says they’re eating 1,200 calories and not losing weight, they’re not actually eating 1,200 calories. Usually they’re not estimating their calorie intake effectively.

A highly restrictive diet that keeps calories genuinely low for a few days can increase the chance of accidentally overeating on other days. That’s because our brains evolved to nudge our behaviour toward survival, not Instagram glory.

The occasional highs average out the steadier lows.

By the end of the week, once you factor in the snacks, weekend drinks, and extra hidden calories, intake may actually average out to maintenance level.

You just don’t notice it because you’re paying attention to the few days when you really did hit those low calorie numbers.

So, to be clear, in this situation, for reverse dieting to work, you or your client must truly be subsisting on very few calories and have reached that “bottoming out” point. This is the point where you don’t feel like you can reduce your calories any more.

Provided you’re already eating mostly high-quality, whole foods, reverse dieting could be really helpful.

Slowly increasing calorie intake can help restore metabolic output.

That means, to some degree, side-stepping the adaptations that come along with a history of dieting.

But to give your metabolism the time it needs to adapt, you’ll want to stay at a higher calorie intake for roughly as long as you spent dieting. Then, after several months of maintaining, that person can start restricting calories again and see the scale start to move.

The takeaway: If you’re truly eating a super low-calorie intake and the scale is stuck, reverse dieting might restore metabolism enough to jump start fat loss.

The more likely outcome, however, is this: It allows you to take a break from dieting, without gaining weight, as well as bring much-needed pleasure back into your eating life.

Then, once you’ve psychologically and metabolically adjusted, you can return to dieting and success.

Situation #3: “I want to get ripped.”

Another common use for reverse dieting: to improve body composition. So in other words, losing fat, gaining muscle, and remaining about the same weight.

Interestingly, Precision Nutrition’s co-founder, John Berardi, Ph.D., came up with a similar idea years ago, called G-Flux, also known as “energy flux.”

He observed that highly active people who consume more calories typically have less fat and more muscle. For example, professional athletes tend to eat a lot, exercise a lot, and remain very lean.

G-Flux is similar to reverse dieting, with one key difference.

When bodybuilders reverse diet, they usually dial down their cardio (although not always), while G-Flux assumes you’ll be doing more than before. The G-Flux version tends to work more effectively for muscle gain than the bodybuilding-style approach. Here’s why.

Reason #1: More cardio will help increase your energy out, giving you more flexibility with energy in.

Reason #2: Increased exercise also changes nutrient partitioning, sending more calories toward muscle growth and fewer to your fat cells.

Plus, since you’re eating more food, you have more opportunities to get the quantities of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients you need in order to feel your best.

The takeaway: Provided you have the ability to exercise more than you are now, increasing calories while keeping activity high is a solid strategy for muscle growth.

How to reverse diet in 5 steps

Step 1: Choose your tracking method.

You’ll need a method to track your food intake.

If you’ve been eating in a calorie deficit, you’re likely already using one. If it’s working for you, stick with it. If not, consider switching it up with these options.

Option #1: Calorie and macro tracking

Calorie and macro tracking are the most precise methods available outside of a lab, which makes them a logical choice for the small increases reverse dieting requires. (You can calculate your reverse diet macros using our handy macros calculator here.)

But many people find calorie and macro tracking to be labor-intensive and frankly, unenjoyable. If that describes you, consider option two.

Option #2: Hand portions

In this system—developed by Precision Nutrition—you use your hand as a personalized, portable portioning tool. And because each hand portion roughly correlates to a certain number of calories as well as protein, carbs, or fat grams, this method counts calories and macros for you.

Hand portions aren’t as accurate as counting calories and macros, but they’re accurate enough. (Specifically, 95 to 98 percent as accurate, based on our internal research.) And that’s all that matters for reverse dieting.

(For an in-depth breakdown of the methods you can use to track your intake, read this article.)

Step 2: Determine your maintenance calories.

Before you can increase calories, you need to figure out your maintenance intake, which is what you currently can eat to maintain your weight.

If you already know this, great.

If not, use our free Nutrition Calculator. It’s the most comprehensive calorie, portion and macro calculator available and is based on NIH mathematical models for bodyweight planning.

Select  “improve health” as your goal and enter the rest of your personal details. The calculator will suggest calorie, macro, and hand portions close to your maintenance intake.

Before adding calories, experiment with your maintenance intake for 2 to 4 weeks, monitoring whether you gain, lose, or maintain. This will help you personalize what the calculator recommends.

Our nutrition calculator is pretty freaking awesome, but no calculator can take your dieting history, genetics, and other qualitative factors into account. Only experimentation can do that.

Step 3: Decide on your macronutrient balance.

It can be easy to get caught up in the ideal macro ratio for your reverse diet.

But the truth is, the most important macro for reverse dieting is protein.

A higher protein diet seems to maximise muscle protein synthesis and minimise protein breakdown, which should lead to more muscle gain. This is probably one of the reasons higher protein diets are better for improving body composition than moderate or low protein diets.10,11

More protein also helps increase energy out because your body uses more energy to process protein than it does for carbohydrates and fat.

Our recommendations for optimal protein intake for building and maintaining muscle range from:

• 1.3 to 3 g/kg (0.6 to 1.35 g/lb) for women

• 1.4 to 3.3 g/kg (0.65 to 1.5 g/lb) for men

Those aiming to maintain lean mass while losing body fat should shoot for the higher ends of those ranges.

As for carbohydrates and fats, the balance between the two isn’t so important. People can lose weight and/or gain muscle with any reasonable mix, as long as it’s sustainable.

So decide your carbohydrate and fat ratio based on how you like to eat and what you can imagine yourself doing long-term. 

We could walk you through a pretty complicated set of instructions that would show you how to do the calorie math by hand—or you could just use our Nutrition Calculator.

Once the calculator estimates your calorie and macronutrient needs, it automatically converts those numbers into food portions you can gauge with your hands.

The result: You can skip weighing and measuring your food, as well as logging the details of every meal into calorie and macro tracking apps.

Reverse dieting requires accurate measures of food intake over time, and the small changes necessary to make it work can easily get lost in the noise. Using the calculator makes this process much easier and more reliable, so you’re more likely to be successful.

Step 4: Choose your rate of progression.

Your goal—what you hope to achieve by reverse dieting—determines how many calories you add each time you increase your intake. And how often you do add calories will depend on the metrics you track. (More on that in Step 5.)

It’s also helpful to consider how motivated you are to eat more food as well as how much fat you’re willing to gain.

Depending on your situation and preferences, you’ll choose one of the three approaches described below.

In the chart, you’ll probably notice that each calorie bump comes from either carbs or fats. That’s because you’ll keep your protein intake constant throughout your reverse diet, based on what you determined in step 3.

Step 5: Monitor your progress and adjust as needed.

Once you’ve picked your plan, it’s time to get started.

To determine whether a reverse diet is doing what you want it to do, track key metrics along the way. You might:

• Weigh yourself daily or weekly. (The day-to-day numbers aren’t so important, but keeping record of your average weekly weight gain or loss is useful)

• Measure your waist, hips, and other body areas, which may reflect changes in body composition better than the scale

• Snap progress photos, which also may reflect changes in body composition better your scale

• Gauge workout performance through heart rate monitoring, personal bests, or other metrics that are meaningful in your sport

• Track energy levels, hunger, and digestive symptoms, and any other subjective measures that are important to you

Based on the data you continually collect, adjust as needed.

Some people may find they’re able to up their intake every week without gaining much fat. Others may need to space out increases over longer intervals.

Increasing every two to four weeks is a solid guideline for most people.

How do you know when to stop reverse dieting? It depends on your goals. A successful reverse diet can take anywhere from a few weeks to many months.

Some signs you may want to continue with your reverse diet include:

• You haven’t gained much fat, or you don’t mind the amount you’ve gained.

• You still feel interested in eating more than you are currently.

• You’ve been reverse dieting for less time than you were in a calorie deficit.

Signs it may be time to stop your reverse diet include:

• You’ve gained as much fat as you feel comfortable gaining.

• You don’t feel interested in eating even more.

• You’ve been reverse dieting for longer than you were in a calorie deficit.

Because reverse dieting requires a bit of experimentation to get right, many people find that their final calorie increase leads to more fat gain than they’re comfortable with.

By tracking metrics, you can catch that early, adjust your calories down one notch, and find your sweet spot (where you can maintain your weight while eating a comfortable amount of food).

Life after reverse dieting

So what happens next?

Reverse dieting is a tool for a specific job—one that requires quite a bit of effort and attention.

Once the job’s done, it’s time to move on.

After closely monitoring how much you eat using external methods—such as calorie, macro-, or hand-portion tracking—consider taking some time to focus on internal methods of regulation, like eating slowly and mindfully.

That doesn’t mean you can’t ever come back to reverse dieting, though.

In fact, you can use reverse dieting as a tool anytime you cut calories for a while. It’s helpful to gradually ramp them back up for all the benefits we covered in this article.

But remember: Despite what you may have seen on social media, it’s key to approach reverse dieting from a realistic perspective and understand when and how it can be used most effectively.

After all, reverse dieting is based on biology—not magic.

Blog Recourse: www.precisionnutrition.com

Setting your Technofunc training schedule

Why do we suggest minimum 3 times per week for the challenge and why is a schedule important?

For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:

Moderate Aerobic activity is suggested minimum 30minutes a day and vigorous aerobic activity 75minutes per week which equates to 10minutes a day. (Not a lot right)

Strength training. Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Aim to do a single set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 16 repetitions

The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week

My input is...

Any less than 3 times per week all you will be doing is improving on a LOW level fitness, not getting REAL results like increasing muscle mass and dropping body fat and that will show in your scan

You should train no less than 3 times per week if you want to obtain optimal health & fitness results in a sustainable amount of time

Training 4-5 times per week is ideal, but in this day and age time is a huge constraint on that so that’s why we suggest minimum 3. It will expose your body to a large enough training variety through the week which will than enable your body to adapt and get stronger, leaner and fitter

PRIORITIES...at the end of the day, taking appearance out of it, if you don’t have a healthy functioning body you ain’t got nothing! Make your health and fitness a priority and I promise you, you will thank yourself later..

My tips...

• Want it bad enough you’ll make it work

• Get up earlier come to the earlier sessions

• Don’t go home first after work go straight to gym

• Set a plan with your partner and ask them for support through it and tag team parenting time of the kids if need be

• Notice when your making excuses

• Don’t let the excuses talk you out of it

• You will make it more of a priority and enjoy it more IF you see results, but ask yourself are you applying yourself properly and enough to get the results in the first place?

In order to move forward into change you need to sacrifice some things. Not forever. Just temporarily

If you want to make REAL progress stick to aiming for the minimum 3.. and if you aren’t that’s ok, but understand that you need to revaluate your goals to suit what you know you will be able to sustain.

Cheers!

Chantelle xo

What the FUNC is Progressive Overload?

Firstly lets give a brief understanding of where the term progressive overload came from and what Is…

What is Progressive Overload?

Progressive Overload is a method of strength training that promotes the gradual increase of the stress placed upon the muscles and nervous system. The principle of progressive overload suggests that the continual increase in the total workload during training sessions will stimulate muscle growth and strength gain. This improvement in overall performance will, in turn, allow the lifter to keep increasing the intensity of his/hers training sessions.

The Science behind Progressive Overload:

The goal of strength training programs is to increase our members physical strength and performance through the delivery of our Dynamic Classes Monday and Fridays. This is what is referred to as RESISTANCE TRAINING. What that means = by placing the muscles under greater-than-normal demand, the body will start a natural adaptation process, improving its capabilities to endure that higher amount of stress. ( because ultimately exercise and strength training is a form of stress to the body)

Neuromuscular adaptation will occur first, which will already increase the individual’s strength when lifting. With consistency in the training sessions, what will follow will be an increase in overall muscle mass and the strengthening of connective tissues.

Progressive overload not only stimulates muscle hypertrophy but it also stimulates the development of stronger and denser bones, ligaments, tendons and cartilage. Progressive overload also incrementally increases blood flow to regions of the body exercised and stimulates more responsive nerve connections between the brain and the muscles involved. In fact, studies suggest that the increase in muscle contraction force, caused by resistance training, happens partially due to an increase in the responsiveness and efficacy of the neural system.

So how the FUNC do i Progressive Overload?

Progressive overload requires you to start somewhere, preferably at a comfortable weight you can easily lift and a moderate to easy intensity than GRADUALLY increase either the volume, intensity, frequency or time in order to overload slightly.

What do we mean by Volume, Intensity, Frequency and Time?

• Volume refers to the total number of reps multiplied by the weight in each rep

• Intensity refers to the percent value of max functional capacity

• Frequency refers to how often you engage in the strength training program

• Time refers to the time in between sets of same exercise or between different exercises.

This technique results in greater gains in physical strength and muscle growth, but there are limits. An excess of training stimuli can lead to the problem of over training. Over training is the decline in training performance over the course of a training program, often accompanied by an increased risk of illness or injury or a decreased desire to exercise. To help avoid this problem, the technique of periodisation is applied.

Periodisation in the context of fitness or strength training programs means scheduling for adequate recovery time between training sessions, and for variety over the course of a long-term program.

How would i apply the technique of periodisation to my training program with Technofunc?

Our recommendations would be to look our our training schedule, see what fits in with your other work/ life schedule and add in our Monday, Wednesday, Friday classes for those strength and progressive overload gains. Track your weights and what your lifting and how many reps for the 4 sets!

We asked our coaches their 3 top tips for Progressive Overload:

HEAD COACH CHANNY - FOCUS ON YOUR WEAKNESSES AND MAKE THEM YOUR STRENGTHS…

1. Start light and focus on the mechanics of the movement, along with volume before intensity

   Pick a weight that is easy for you, make sure you are doing the exercise 100% correct and that it feels good for you, than build your capacity with that than increase - Its DOES NOT MATTER what the guy or girl next to you is lifting/squatting. Honestly throw comparison out the window. Everyone is at a different stage of their strength gains and journey! As the saying goes - YOU DO YOU BOO…

2. Don’t miss your strength workouts

   If you only come lift some shit when you feel like it and there is no consistency, the weights will always be too heavy for you and you will never progress. Like around new years, everyone is incredibly motivated and exercise like they going into Covid19 lock down and fizzle the func out reaalllll quick.. So using the strategy of starting small and building a solid foundation of lifting something incredibly easy and increase the volume and intensity gradually you’ll feel more motivated because you’ll see your strength increase

3. Increase ever so slightly. In small ways….

   Each week add 1-2.5kgs increase to your weights . This week if you start with the bar, next week add the 2.5kgs on and start there for your squats. If you start with body weight than start with the lightest weights. Adding a bit each week theses teeny tiny gains add up to BIG weight in a shorter amount of time. lets think about it like this… This week you squat 22.5kgs for 3 sets of 12 reps. Do you think next time you can add 5kgs to that? If you add 5kgs each week for 4 weeks, in 4 weeks you are squatting 20kgs more than when you first started.

From the other coaches:

1. Always track your weight and reps to know if you’re improving

2. Try to progress in some way every single session; better form, bigger range of motion, load and tempo

In closing, small gains add up fast. The weight on the bar or the weight of the dumbbells should be increasing each time the strength classes roll on it. SLOWLY, GRADUALLY and REASONABLY

Coach Channy

xo

Food Volume

WHAT IS EATING FOR VOLUME?

As cool as it sounds, eating for volume doesn't mean eating an entire large pizza in one sitting. Eating for volume is a strategy to maximize the amount of food you can eat while simultaneously keeping your calorie intake as low as possible. This strategy works on two main principles:

1. Calories and physical food amount are not directly correlated. A pound of broccoli will contain considerably less calories than a pound of French fries.

2. The human stomach can only hold so much food at any one time.

If we prioritize eating foods lower in calorie, you'll have less space in your stomach for higher calorie foods. This will help you feel fuller even though you ate the same amount of food calorie-wise. This diagram illustrates this point:

THE BEST FOODS TO HELP YOU EAT FOR VOLUME

Choose foods that are low-calorie, high in nutrients (vitamins & minerals), and will take up lots of space on your plate and in your belly.

Volume foods tend to soak up lots of water or are filled with air. Water is heavy, expands your stomach, and air increases the size of the food. Both are calorie free so the more air or water the food has, the better.

Foods higher in fiber are often more filling, bulkier, and lower in calorie. Choose foods that are high in fiber like vegetables, whole fruits, and root vegetables if you really want to pack your plate high.

Lean sources of protein with very little fat are also great high-volume foods. As a bonus, protein is the most satiating macronutrient and has a high thermic effect which means that eating protein will satisfy your hunger better than eating carbs or fat will and protein takes more energy to metabolize. This increase in energy expenditure can help you better maintain an energy deficit to lose body fat.

Here are some high-volume foods you can choose. This isn’t an all-inclusive list, but hopefully, you’ll get the idea of what kinds of foods to choose and build a big beautiful plate.

*All calories listed per 100g unless otherwise stated 

Source: Google

Vegetables:

• Broccoli (34 cal)

• Cauliflower (25 cal)

• Brussel Sprouts (43 cal)

• Asparagus (20 cal)

• Leafy Greens like Spinach, Kale, Bok Choy, Arugula and Lettuces (generally from 15-50 cal)

• Mushrooms (22 cal)

• Whole Green Beans (31 cal)

• Cabbage (25 cal)

• Capsicum (20 cal)

• Carrots (41 cal)

• Zucchini (17 cal)

• Cucumber (16 cal)

• Tomato (18 cal)

• Pickles (11 cal)

• Sauerkraut (19 cal)

Fruits:

• Strawberries (33 cal)

• Watermelon (30 cal)

• Rockmelon (34 cal)

• Grapefruit (42 cal)

• Oranges (47 cal)

• Peach (39 cal)

• Blueberries (57 cal)

• Raspberries (53 cal)

• Blackberries (43 cal)

Carbs:

• Cooked Oatmeal (68 cal)

• Boiled Potato (77 cal)

• Lentils (116 cal)

• Edamame (122 cal)

• Green Peas (81 cal)

• Air Popped Popcorn (1 cup = 31 cal)

• High Fiber Tortillas (1 tortilla = 90 cal)

Protein:

• Egg whites (52 cal)

• Nonfat Greek yogurt (59 cal)

• Nonfat cottage cheese (72 cal)

• 99% lean ground turkey (115 cal)

• Boneless, skinless chicken creast (165 cal)

Just remember that even though these foods are lower in calorie, you should still measure, portion and be mindful of the quantity of these foods just like you would with any food.

EATING FOR VOLUME HACKS…

Add veggies to all of your plates

Add a bunch of vegetables (#greenshit as my dad would say) to everything you eat and you'll automatically add a ton more volume without adding a lot of calories. You can be obvious and give yourself an entrée-sized portion at meals or get creative and sneak them in wherever possible.

• Throw some veggies into your scrambled eggs for breakfast.

• Make stir-fry with tons of veggies

• Add veggie to pasta dishes

• Bake veggies into a casserole

• If you make a protein smoothie, add foods like spinach, kale or pumpkin.

Cook them and season them however you want. Just get them on your plate!

3 Science Backed Secrets to Boost Motivation

3 Science Backed Secrets to Boost Motivation.

Workout motivation. You have none. Or at least, it comes and goes. And quite possibly more often than not, it goes. You know exercise is good, and you still don’t do it. You’re not alone. 

Motivation is up there with one of the biggest factors that determines a persons progress in their journey or if they come to a screeching halt.

We all want a magic pill that makes us fitter, stronger, leaner and healthier. Good news is the magic pill is here. The bad news is, it’s exercise. 

The Magic Pill Is A Treadmill… kind of. 

Some will play brain-training games to keep their mind quick and sharp. Some may meditate. Some may take mouthfuls of supplements. How do those fare compared to exercise? In boxing terms, exercise wins by KO in the first round! 

The evidence for exercise boosting cognitive function is head-and-shoulders above that of brain training, drugs, nutritional supplements and meditation. Scientifically, on the current evidence, exercise is the best way to enhance your cognitive function. When you exercise it boosts BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) which helps you learn faster. About 20% faster!

Want to be happy? Exercise is as effective in treating depression as anti-depressants. And if that isn’t enough, people who exercised had a lower relapse rate than those taking meds.

But it doesn’t stop there. Exercise makes you less likely to get sick. It makes you more creative. It boosts confidence and helps you sleep better at night.

Where am I going with all this? In a nutshell, a happy brain is more likely to stay motivated. 

They are all awesome benefits of exercising! But how do you get the motivation to ‘follow through’? First, let’s kill that awful dread you may feel when you think about having to go to the gym.

KILL THE DREAD

Sometimes a visit to a gym can feel like you’re about to get a tooth yanked out at the dentist! 

You tell yourself “Im gonna feel awful” or “Its gonna be painful.” The solution… STOP THINKING ABOUT THE BEGINNING! Getting started is unpleasant and research shows when you think about exercise you give that too much emphasis. It’s similar to procrastination in that you think about how uncomfortable something is to get started… so you don’t. 

TIP: 

Give a ‘DASH’ a try.

You make yourself work on whatever you’re dreading for 10 mins… and often you’ll realise once you get started that it isn’t so bad. Don’t think about the painful beginning. Think about how good you feel when you’re making progress toward your goals. 

MAKE A PLAN… (a real plan)

Writing down a specific plan (that includes where, when and how) makes a huge difference in whether you will build good habits. When researchers just made people think about how much they planned to exercise, time at the gym increased 138%

For example, researchers asked college students how much they planned to exercise. Compared to the control group, those that were asked about future exercise did about 94 additional minutes or 138% more exercise than in the previous week. 

TIP:

Create little ‘If-Then’ responses to known stumbling blocks. For instance: “If I feel too tired to go to the gym, then I will go and just do half of my usual workout.” Remember, something is better than nothing and that something can go a long way to keeping you motivated.

FIGHT FEELINGS WITH FEELINGS

Specifically, we need to fight BAD feelings, with GOOD feelings. So listen to your favourite music! Research shows it improves exercise performance and reduces your perception of discomfort. In fact, playing music from the happiest time in your life makes you happier ANYWHERE! Neuroscientist, Alex Korb, states: 

“One of the strong effects of music comes from its ability to remind us of previous environments in which we were listening to that music. That’s really mediated by this one limbic structure called the hippocampus which is really important in a thing called ‘context dependent memory.’ Let’s say school or a workplace was the happiest time of your life. If you start listening to the music that you were listening to at that time, it can help you feel more connected to that happier time in your life and makes it more present.”

TIP:

Pretty obvious… COME TO TECHNOFUNC. Our music will fire you up and get that grit showing to smash out your workout!I We got you covered

So there you have it folks. Some science backed secrets to getting and STAYING motivated! 

Yes, you need some grit and determination, but maybe these little tips can assist you in reaching your goals or at the least, keep you consistent with your training.

Importance of training Lower Body

Our legs are the largest muscle group so when we train our legs we are utilising larger muscle groups therefore our bodies become more efficient at burning fat, even after we finish training. Training our legs is also beneficial when it comes to core strengthening. So when we do train our largest muscle group we are actually incorporating the core muscles as well. Its a win - win!

So what are the benefits?

Lower body exercise also increases bone density, improves your balance and stamina and decreases injuries to your knees and hips, as well as ensuring you become less likely to accidents and falls due to the improvement to your strength and coordination of the lower body. And no matter what age you are that is always important to be injury free, with how busy life gets we cannot afford to take time of work because of an injury nor can we afford to stop exercising due to the increase in lifestyle diseases and the rise of sedentary lives we lead. Children benefit by learning better balance, control and awareness of their bodies. Adults need to customise their training more so to suit their daily activities/lifestyle. Also, a strong lower body helps slow the physical weakness that is part of the ageing process and maintains balance, endurance and confidence. 

Muscle groups

The major muscles of your lower body are the glutes, which move your upper leg to the side or back; the abductors of the lateral thigh, which help move your leg to the side; the abductors of the inner thigh, which move your leg back toward midline; the hamstrings of the posterior thigh, which lift your heels toward your buttocks; the quadriceps of the anterior thigh, which straighten your leg; and the calf muscles, which point your feet downward and help you stand on your toes. All of which most likely sounds like FUNC to you however these are some seriously important muscle groups to take care of and if you have no idea how to train them you can that it would be easy to injure yourself. So do it safely and do it right the first time to avoid injury and the guess work.

Our lower body being the largest muscle group of the body needs to be taken care of, utilising the muscles efficiently is important. If we are going to train this particular group of muscles more it means, we also need to take a little more self-care as well. Including a regular visit to the massage therapist or chiro when necessary as well as stretching on a regular basis to help stretch them out correctly and strengthen them using body weight and effective poses instructed in our classes. Investing in a foam roller will pay off in dived ends, self-care protocols are so important when it comes to the human body because we only have one body to live in for the duration of our existence and if we don’t look after it well then it won’t look after us in return.

5 key takeaways as to why training the lower body is important:

1. Basic function/movement: You might rely on long runs or walks to help build your endurance, but you’re missing a big part of the equation if you skip leg strength exercises.

2. Muscle growth production: Many of the most common leg exercises are compound movements, which means they work multiple joints.

3. Metabolic booster: Working more muscles with an exercise also makes it a bigger calorie-burner. A lower body workout consisting of squats, step-ups, leg extensions and lunges burns a serious number of calories.

4. Power production: Strong legs are intrinsic to pushing more weight, whether flipping tires, moving furniture or pressing a barbell over your chest. You need the power from your lower body to propel weight forward. Neglect training your legs and you’re cheating yourself of a major source of power production.

5. A balanced body: Neglect your legs, and you’ll never progress beyond the fundamental movements/exercises of your training program.As sedentary lifestyles further increase in our society, we are sitting more and more.

Excessive sitting leads to tightness in our hips and legs and loss of muscle mass (primarily in our Glutes). When you go to the gym you want to train to fight the effects of this lifestyle. So if your dealing with tight hips, knee injuries, lower back pains, the goal is to not avoid these areas in the gym but rather to attack them head on with proper strength training using free weights and calisthenics. if you are unsure of what that means it is a good idea to talk to one of our staff for further education and assistance.

So as the saying goes, Don’t skip Leg day!

Tips for your Post Covid19 Routine..

We are all well aware that the world is somewhat returning to reopening and getting back to our new normal it’s not just schools and businesses that are slowly adapting to changes and a new routines, its all of our lives in general, over the whole wide world.

Everyone is adjusting their day-to-day lives, be it something resembling their pre-outbreak schedule or a brand new one as we adapt to a post-coronavirus world. For many, it’s a challenging shift as there’s no real timeline of how long this will continue for, but just because the transition can be hard, doesn’t mean it has to actually be hard.

With that being said, positivity isn’t always the easiest thing to have when you are faced with uncertanty or if you are uncomfortable with change, but we are all in the same boat, just effected differently and know that you are not alone.

There is a saying that goes, “ a rising tide will lift all boats” so associate yourself with positivity, surround yourself with it, read and listen to positive things to make the process just a little easier.

So here are our tips that could help your new routine POST COVID19….

Keep things in perspective

One of the most important parts of adjusting to a new routine is to accept that this is new for everyone. It’s important to recognise there’s no blueprint for this, for anyone! The ‘should be’ type of thinking really gets thrown out the window because no one saw this coming, no one has been effected by it before let alone the WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD, so let go of the expectations that things “should” be a certain way.

So much of this is out of our control that if we create a daily routine, including small goals that we can see through the confusion and follow one course until successful, this than gives us a real sense of accomplishment for our days.

Maintaining a balance

It can be difficult balancing the logistics of a new routine alongside the emotions that come with and everything we’ve experienced in the last few months, both on a small, personal scale and a larger, global scale. 

Its important to remind ourselves we’re doing the best we can. It’s important we prioritise emotional well-being, taking care of ourselves without a sense of guilt. That’s particularly important for parents who are trying to manage the ins and outs of homeschooling, trying to work and find some type of balance, business owners adapting their business model to a whole new way of functioning and anyone who has lost their job or been greatly effected by the outbreak. Do the best you can and don’t focus on the rest.

Looking ahead

As restrictions are rolled back, there is a sense of optimism about the near future even as fears about another outbreak of virus. Prioritising emotional presence, focusing on the what is versus what happened in the past or might happen in the future.

Acknowledge focusing on the now, this is challenging but holding on to a sense of optimism can go a long way even if so much of the future remains speculative. People have concerns about whether or not life will return to normal immediately or if they’ll have time to readapt. And there’s fear of what the new normal might look like, and that is all valid feelings to have, again just try and remain positive and optimistic and look for the chances for personal growth and development in the situations.

Be Real

Know that in the gym you will not be where you were physically, mentally and emotionally pre Covid19. Don’t have the expectation on yourself that you will be as fit or as strong as you where, don’t come to the gym lifting the same weights because your in a different condition now. Start of with the basics, lift light and work on a baseline of fitness to work yourself back to where you were. Everyone will be again, in the same boat. Start small and work your way back.

Meetings with yourself

If you schedule your classes the day prior you are more likely to stay in routine. Make it an appointment with yourself to get in and get it done and don’t let yourself down. That is your time to work on whatever your goals are that you have set and want to achieve. Start with 3 sessions and work you way back to the 6 you did pre Covid19.

START NOW

I highlight this one because i feel its the most important. The routine that you want to establish with the gym included into your daily or weekly routine. START THAT ROUTINE NOW. Plan this week to utilise the time you would go to the gym to do something active to get you into the habit. Than once the gym opens, change the activity to the gym and you will be so surprised at how much easier it actually is to stick to your routine.

Cheers

Chantelle

xo

TECHNOFUNC COMEBACK PLAN

Hey there Techno Tribe!

We have finally been given our date that NSW Gyms are allowed to reopen (YAY) so todays blog post is geared towards our Comeback COVID Safety Plan to ensure all members peace of mind that we want to do our very best to keep everyone safe while joining in on our kick-ass classes we have programmed for you to get the results you are looking for!

Firstly lest start with saying that Technofunc will NOT be “business as usual” during Stage 2 of COVID-19 comeback so we want to take this time to talk about the new rules and regulations that we must follow based on the NSW Government guidelines.

• We will have 10people max at one time in the facility

• Bookings for class times essential

• You are to wash your hands with hot soapy water before class, during the drink breaks and after class

• Your equipment for class will be set our already as per normal and you will have the option to increase or decrease your weight during the session.

• We will have sanitising stations throughout the gym - At reception & in the bathroom area

• All equipment will be cleaned after each use, using high grade disinfectant with 70% alcohol in it

• All clients will have their own 4m2 training area within our COVID SMALL GROUP SESSIONS,

• All Clients and staff will have to adhere to 1.5m social distancing at all times

• Please minimise bringing big gym bags with lots of personal belongings, please only bring the essentials

• NO staff member or client can enter if showing signs of sickness,

• Childminding services will be unavailable and no children will be permitted within the facility,

• Towels are a MUST during your training session ’no towel- no training’ policy will be STRICTLY implemented

• The front door of the facility will remain open prior to and at the end of the class and is to be opened and closed by staff to minimise contamination to the door handle

Now we have the nitty gritty out of the way this is how we will be running our group sessions

Group Session Structure:

• All small-group sessions will run for 30 minutes⠀⠀⠀

• Class numbers will be confirmed in coming week

• Will include a demonstration only, no stretching ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

• No boxing until further notice.

• 1-2 people per session and the outside stations must be used leaving the middle station free to apply with social Distancing

• Each week will consist of our newly designed training schedule and format. All sessions will be held in our Technofunc Locations on the workout platform

• You are to wait outside the facility if you arrive early to your class unless you need to get changed⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

• No gym access outside of session hours will be available

• Technofunc will only be taking on a limited number of people
  

We are beyond excited to be able to re-open, our doors and see all our beautiful client's, but also make sure you are coming back to a safe place that you can still enjoy everything Technofunc has to offer

Bring it on and get ready to get Func’d!

Change The Game..

Recently i was listening to a podcast and it was all about your perspective, how to change it to have different outcomes, positivity and mental toughness and it really got me thinking about my life and just life in general and how there are different perspectives of the game called life.

From the podcast i was able to come to determine that there are 2 games that all of us play in life.

1. The Short term game.

   This is where you view things with an end, only apply yourself for a certain amount of time, where your willing to find how you can fast track the journey to get quicker results. The short game is putting off anything that seems hard for doing something that seems easy or fun. It offers visible and immediate benefits. The short game is seductive.

   • Why do your study when you can go watch the Next episode of Defending Jason?

   • Why wait to pay for a phone in cash, when you can put it on your credit card?

   • Why go to the gym when you can go drinking with your friends?

   • Why invest in your relationship with your partner today when you can work a little bit extra in the office?

   • Why always try your best if its just going to get belittled and be not good enough for someone?

   • Why learn something boring that doesn’t change when you can learn something sexy that impresses people?

   • Why bust your butt at work to do the work before the meeting when you can pretend like everyone else?

   The effects of the short game multiply the longer you play. On any given day the impact is small but as days turn into months and years the result is enormous. People who play the short game don’t realise the costs until they become too large to ignore.

   The problem with the short game is that the costs are small and never seem to matter much on any given day. Saving $5 today won’t make you a millionaire. Going to the gym and eating healthy today won’t make you fit tomorrow. Reading a book today won’t make you smart. Going to sleep on time tonight won’t make you healthier tomorrow. Sure we might try these things when we’re motivated but since the results are not immediate we revert back to the short game and gratification.

2. The Long Term game.

   This is where it could literally never end. You don’t take shortcuts you put in the work day in and day out, you set the goals, you are realistic about what could go right or wrong and your willing to delay the gratification because you invest the time to go after the goals and things you want. The long game is the opposite of the short game, it means paying a small price today to make tomorrow’s easier. If we can do this long enough and remain CONSISTENT to see the results, it feeds on itself.

   From the outside, the long game looks pretty boring:

   • Saving money and investing it for tomorrow

   • Not Drinking or leaving the party early to go get some sleep

   • Investing time in your relationship today so you have a foundation when something happens

   • Reading the book or studying

   • Doing your study before you go for a walk or to the gym

   • Going to the gym rather than watching Netflix

   … and countless other examples.

In my opinion, so many people are willing to play the short game but very few are willing to play the long game. We see it far too often, that everyone wants what they want YESTERDAY.

It could also be in career, daily work life, family, relationships. Literally every aspect there is a short and long term game. You may be wanting that raise, or promotion, you may be saving for a car or you may be making changes in your family and relationships and you just want it to happen ASAP, right now!

We pass up success of others to being pure luck. He is where he is because of pure luck, or she looks like that and can do that because she’s lucky. Well, NO. He and she is not. They would of been playing a different game to you. Mentally and physically they have applied themselves to the long term game over the short term game and done what was needed to be done to get that success.

If you’re observant in your life what you’ll also notice is the people playing the short term game always want the results of those playing the long term game but only the smart ones will realise that a change in game will also change their outcomes!  

In everything you do, you’re either playing a short term or long term game. You can’t opt out and you can’t play a long-term game in everything, you need to pick what matters to you. But in everything you do time amplifies the difference between long and short-term games. The question you need to think about is when and where to play a long-term game. A good place to start is with things that compound: knowledge, relationships, and finances.

Change the game to Change the Result.

Change your mindset. Change your life.

Cheers, Channy xo