Yesterday afternoon I danced with BNI Harbour View Chapter Member Colleen Sluiter. A dance is when you meet up with a BNI Member and find out as much as you can about them and their business. Her story about becomming a New Zealander (which she now is) should be welcomed as an inspiration by other New Zealander's.
Colleen owns and operates Business Insight Group, an NZ firm that fixes the marketing problems of other NZ companies. Colleen has a degree in Business Economics, covering marketing, financial, and organisational management. She also has a Diploma in Business Logistics. I guess that makes her an academic of sorts. In addition to that though she is an involved, capable, competent, and effective member of the NZ Business Community. She does not simply think or talk about things. She does things.
The logistics qualification resulted after she found herself owner of a transport company. She felt it had to be expanded and transitioned into a fully fledged South African logistics company. After four years at the helm of her company Colleen was able to sell the business as she prepared to leave South Africa for New Zealand with her husband (a Spec Builder in South Africa turned Quantity Surveyor here in New Zealand), and two daughters (both now in their mid to late 20's and married to "great kiwi blokes"). She still knows the person who bought her business from her and all indications are it is going well.
When Colleen got to NZ everything was new. She told me of being at a comedian's performance when the performer asked those who were not for the taking of recreational drugs to stand up. Colleen and her husband found themselves to be the only ones standing in the entire audience. She was shocked, but maybe Don Brash is actually onto something with his call to de-criminalise grass? His assertion that the Police cannot go around arresting vast numbers of the entire NZ population may have some credibility...
Anyway, Colleen's commitment to her new home was such that she understood she had to learn to think like a kiwi. So she looked for a job. A packaging manufacturer based in Onehunga was lucky enough to get her to agree she would stay on contract with them for 2 years on minimum wage. At first she had no idea of wage rates in NZ and that she, with all her experience and ability, was earning (for a 40 hour working week) about the same as a couple on the un-employment benefit after all of the allowances are included. Even so, she feels that a promise is a promise so she stayed at that company just over the two years. By then she was simply bored and felt the need to find something that would help her grow.
She bought a licence to practice business consulting under an NZ consulting business banner. The organisation specialised in small to medium businesses but soon Colleen became aware of demand for her abilities from bigger businesses. The product she used under the consulting banner was not up to the mark for the bigger businesses so she started writing her own materials. One year ago she dropped the licence arrangement with the banner business and started Business Insight Group, specialising in finding marketing solutions for businesses.
In five years time she wants her business to be:
- employing consultants
- adding to and running a training and coaching arm
- Speaking and writing about business
She says her main driver is watching the flea leap from the jar. What? Missed that? Let me explain.
Q. How do you train a flea to stop it leaping from the jar it lives in?
A. Put a lid on the jar. After a while the flea get's sick of bumping the back of it's head on the lid so it learns to jump lower. Once it has done that you can remove the lid and the flea will never leap from the jar again - because it no longer thinks it can.
People are the same. They learn a limit and whether it exists or not they are restricted by it forever more. Colleen loves to see those chains of restriction broken.
The strengths she brings to the table is the inate ability to listen and translate for her client what they are saying about their business issues. She says that most people know the answer to their issues and that they simply need to hear someone like her confirm they are correct in their assessment and intentions. I think that is the icing on the cake for her. Not only are the chains of restriction broken but, for the most part, they are broken by the wearer, which thrills her to bits!
You can find Colleen here http://www.bigbusinessinsight.com/
Colleen, 12 years after your arrival here, I want to welcome you to NZ and into my business life.
Wayne
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Tuesday 27 September 2011
How do you do a messy, dusty, smelly job without creating mess, dust, and smelliness?
http://www.floorsander.co.nz/
This link is to AFS Floor Sanding Services, based in Unsworth Heights, Auckland. They specialise in re-surfacing timber flooring without creating mess, dust, or nasty chemical odours. Heath is the owner/operator and employs three staff to cover Auckland. Heath is a member of BNI Harbour View. I spent some time with Heath this morning learning more about how his company performs these miracles.
First up, the use highly specialised and imported gear which have their own extractor fans and dust bags. So, no dust or mess.
Then, they don't use toxic, smelly, finishing chemicals. They use natural stains and finishes.
That solves the mystery of how the miracles occur, but how did all of this business success begin? I asked Heath.
How did you get into this business of yours?
A friend from soccer once invited me to do a cash job. The money was good. I was working at Telstra business supporting customers and monitoring the international fibre optic at the time and was completely sick of computers. When I go the chance to make a change, I took it!
What are the three key things that built your business?
- People skills for making sales and keeping customers so that they always come back.
- I am a work-a-holic. I never let anyone down.
- The work done by my staff and myself is consistently of the highest quality. We are perfectionists.
How can your business grow from here?
I don't think it can in Auckland. There is not enough work for too many contractors. Our reputation keeps our company busy, but I cannot see great room for growth looking at the market today.
I don't want to expand beyond Auckland. I don't want the hassle of franchising or the like. Customers want natural floor finishes to look like engineered flooring. That is impossible. Our finishes are rolled, not sprayed. This issue is manageable at the size we are at. So I want to keep things that way.
What will you be doing 5 years from now?
I hope to be involved in my daughter's out-of-school activities. I am sporty. My wife is sporty and artistic. I don't mind what my daughter takes up. Sport. Music. Art. I just want to be there. Maybe as a coach (if my daughter goes the sporty way).
When can you make a kick boxing class at Freedom Heath?
Tomorrow, 6pm.
This link is to AFS Floor Sanding Services, based in Unsworth Heights, Auckland. They specialise in re-surfacing timber flooring without creating mess, dust, or nasty chemical odours. Heath is the owner/operator and employs three staff to cover Auckland. Heath is a member of BNI Harbour View. I spent some time with Heath this morning learning more about how his company performs these miracles.
First up, the use highly specialised and imported gear which have their own extractor fans and dust bags. So, no dust or mess.
Then, they don't use toxic, smelly, finishing chemicals. They use natural stains and finishes.
That solves the mystery of how the miracles occur, but how did all of this business success begin? I asked Heath.
How did you get into this business of yours?
A friend from soccer once invited me to do a cash job. The money was good. I was working at Telstra business supporting customers and monitoring the international fibre optic at the time and was completely sick of computers. When I go the chance to make a change, I took it!
What are the three key things that built your business?
- People skills for making sales and keeping customers so that they always come back.
- I am a work-a-holic. I never let anyone down.
- The work done by my staff and myself is consistently of the highest quality. We are perfectionists.
How can your business grow from here?
I don't think it can in Auckland. There is not enough work for too many contractors. Our reputation keeps our company busy, but I cannot see great room for growth looking at the market today.
I don't want to expand beyond Auckland. I don't want the hassle of franchising or the like. Customers want natural floor finishes to look like engineered flooring. That is impossible. Our finishes are rolled, not sprayed. This issue is manageable at the size we are at. So I want to keep things that way.
What will you be doing 5 years from now?
I hope to be involved in my daughter's out-of-school activities. I am sporty. My wife is sporty and artistic. I don't mind what my daughter takes up. Sport. Music. Art. I just want to be there. Maybe as a coach (if my daughter goes the sporty way).
When can you make a kick boxing class at Freedom Heath?
Tomorrow, 6pm.
What they won't tell you about lower back pain...
Hi folks,
A few years back I put together a programme for self-managing back pain. It works. And it works incredibly well. You do not need special tools or equipment. You just need your body. I wanted something that could be used by an athlete in the gym just as much as the travelling businessman at the airport. The process I put together is something I call compound stretching, and the idea goes a little like this.
Muscles never work alone. When you "flex your biceps" (like the boys do when they are trying to impress the girls) and it bulges impressively three things have happened:
1) The elbow has flexed (bent). By the way, it is not the bicep muscle that flexes. The elbow joint is flexing. The bicep muscle is contracting. Which is the second thing on the list of events.
2) The bicep contracts whilst shortening.
3) The triceps (the muscle running along the back of the upper arm opposite to the biceps) has to lengthen to allow the bicep to shorten.
Folks, we are talking about moving the elbow joint in one direction, using two muscles (biceps shortening and triceps lengthening). Essentially the lower spine, which flexes, extends, and twists, has to perform far more complex movements. A far more complex muscular structure allows this to happen. But the principles remain the same. Some muscles need to shorten to make a movement happen, and others muscles need to lengthen to allow the movement to happen. Strength and flexibility, in balance, is so critical to spinal functionality. And that is what my programme of compound stretching is based upon. Actually, with my programme, some muscles are working hard and shortening (contracting) whilst others are working equally hard and lengthening (stretching). Before we continue, I want to cover one more aspect to this.
When body builders want to get big muscles they focus mostly on just three main exercises. These exercises (Deadlift, Squat, and Bench Press) work the whole body, and they use big groups of muscles working together. Exercises that use more than one muscle are called compound exercises. Think of a bicep curl. You know? When you pick up a dumbbell and use it as resistance whilst you bent and straighten the elbow. That is an isolation exercise. You are working the biceps only. Body builders might use this exercise to refine, further define, and finish the development of the biceps muscle, but they won't build it this way. They will build it primarily by performing big feats of strength and power involving compound exercises. That is the mentality behind my compound stretches. Sure we can stretch the hamstring with a hamstring stretch, but that is just one part of the body moving in isolation to all of the others. A hamstring stretch might feel good on the hamstring, but (in my experience) by itself will not do as much to relieve back pain (or increase functionality) as a good compound stretch. Why? Because a compound stretch, like a compound exercise, forces the muscles of the body to work as a symphony. You would not go to a classical orchestral performance expecting to hear the wind instruments play a song, then the strings play another, and percussion play yet a different song after that. No! you go to hear the orchestra play as one. And that is exactly how the body works (which is why I believe it should be exercised that way too). You can find the story of the development of this programme here http://www.managing-back-pain.webs.com/ But recently I discovered something new!
I always knew that having abdominal muscles tied up in knots often exasperated and contributed to back pain. Previously the only weapon I had to combat abdominals tied up in knots was compound stretching of the abdominals and nearby muscle groups. There was a time when they always worked for me - until recently. Something else was going on. Even with everything I had learned about balancing the postural muscles of the body strength-and-flexibility-wise my back was sore and I could not fix it completely for quite a number of weeks. Finally, I found the answer! (well, my Naturopath did actually).
Un-realised by me, I have suffered digestive issues since my early teens. These were to do with intolerance's to certain food groups. These intolerance's have sapped my energy after eating so much of the wrong foods over so many years (decades actually) that, in the past, I have even wondered if I were developing diabetes. Blood tests always told me my blood sugar regulation was fine. So I pretty much ignored my sometimes erratic energy levels and worked on getting fitter and stronger instead. This time, I had something I could not ignore any longer - a tightly twisted and tender tummy area coupled with a sore back I just could not relieve.
Long story short my food intolerance's have now been handled, my tummy feels better, my back is fine, and I have tons of energy. The symptoms surrounding the withdrawals from the toxins I had consumed for so long include a complete loss of appetite, nil energy, chills all day, cold sweats all night, headaches I thought would make my head explode, and I was pretty much confined to bed 24/7 for almost 2 weeks. The complete detox, which began as a two week detox diet, took a period of almost one month from start to finish. I thought the process would only last for the length of the diet. I was wrong. After the diet the body had to handle the hang-over. It makes sense (in hindsight) because that is how fitness increases to:
1) You train (think of this as the detox diet)
2) You recover (think of this as the body dealing to the toxins)
At times during the detox process I thought that maybe I should just give in and go back to eating whatever but I hung in there and boy am I glad I did!
So, the good news? Detoxes can fix things you didn't know (or believe) were wrong with you.
The bad news? Once the body begins the process, the process takes over the body. And the process can get pretty rough. So don't detox when you are busy. Do it when you have nothing other to do. And, although everyone is different, be prepared for the process to last for a month or more. Once clean, stay clean and enjoy your new found vitality.
On balance, is the detox worth the trouble? I would say "Yes!", "Yes!", and "Yes!". I can't wait to start training again (it has been a whole year since I was last well enough to train!).
Wayne
Cell +64 21 176 4266
Office +64 9 282 3169
website www.freedomfitness.co.nz
email freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com
ps: Although temperatures are a little chilly of late around here in the morning, I now find these bracing. I bound out of bed in the morning, excited and anticipating another great new day. Before my detox my body could not regulate temperature well at all. Cold felt freezing and warm felt blisteringly hot. I never wanted to get out of bed in the morning, and I never wanted to leave the house and go into the sun during the day. My sensitivities to temperatures had been observed by my Doctor but what to do about it he knew not. Well, thankfully, now the problem has gone.
pss: Always check with your trusted health professional before following any new form of eating plan or exercise programme.
A few years back I put together a programme for self-managing back pain. It works. And it works incredibly well. You do not need special tools or equipment. You just need your body. I wanted something that could be used by an athlete in the gym just as much as the travelling businessman at the airport. The process I put together is something I call compound stretching, and the idea goes a little like this.
Muscles never work alone. When you "flex your biceps" (like the boys do when they are trying to impress the girls) and it bulges impressively three things have happened:
1) The elbow has flexed (bent). By the way, it is not the bicep muscle that flexes. The elbow joint is flexing. The bicep muscle is contracting. Which is the second thing on the list of events.
2) The bicep contracts whilst shortening.
3) The triceps (the muscle running along the back of the upper arm opposite to the biceps) has to lengthen to allow the bicep to shorten.
Folks, we are talking about moving the elbow joint in one direction, using two muscles (biceps shortening and triceps lengthening). Essentially the lower spine, which flexes, extends, and twists, has to perform far more complex movements. A far more complex muscular structure allows this to happen. But the principles remain the same. Some muscles need to shorten to make a movement happen, and others muscles need to lengthen to allow the movement to happen. Strength and flexibility, in balance, is so critical to spinal functionality. And that is what my programme of compound stretching is based upon. Actually, with my programme, some muscles are working hard and shortening (contracting) whilst others are working equally hard and lengthening (stretching). Before we continue, I want to cover one more aspect to this.
When body builders want to get big muscles they focus mostly on just three main exercises. These exercises (Deadlift, Squat, and Bench Press) work the whole body, and they use big groups of muscles working together. Exercises that use more than one muscle are called compound exercises. Think of a bicep curl. You know? When you pick up a dumbbell and use it as resistance whilst you bent and straighten the elbow. That is an isolation exercise. You are working the biceps only. Body builders might use this exercise to refine, further define, and finish the development of the biceps muscle, but they won't build it this way. They will build it primarily by performing big feats of strength and power involving compound exercises. That is the mentality behind my compound stretches. Sure we can stretch the hamstring with a hamstring stretch, but that is just one part of the body moving in isolation to all of the others. A hamstring stretch might feel good on the hamstring, but (in my experience) by itself will not do as much to relieve back pain (or increase functionality) as a good compound stretch. Why? Because a compound stretch, like a compound exercise, forces the muscles of the body to work as a symphony. You would not go to a classical orchestral performance expecting to hear the wind instruments play a song, then the strings play another, and percussion play yet a different song after that. No! you go to hear the orchestra play as one. And that is exactly how the body works (which is why I believe it should be exercised that way too). You can find the story of the development of this programme here http://www.managing-back-pain.webs.com/ But recently I discovered something new!
I always knew that having abdominal muscles tied up in knots often exasperated and contributed to back pain. Previously the only weapon I had to combat abdominals tied up in knots was compound stretching of the abdominals and nearby muscle groups. There was a time when they always worked for me - until recently. Something else was going on. Even with everything I had learned about balancing the postural muscles of the body strength-and-flexibility-wise my back was sore and I could not fix it completely for quite a number of weeks. Finally, I found the answer! (well, my Naturopath did actually).
Un-realised by me, I have suffered digestive issues since my early teens. These were to do with intolerance's to certain food groups. These intolerance's have sapped my energy after eating so much of the wrong foods over so many years (decades actually) that, in the past, I have even wondered if I were developing diabetes. Blood tests always told me my blood sugar regulation was fine. So I pretty much ignored my sometimes erratic energy levels and worked on getting fitter and stronger instead. This time, I had something I could not ignore any longer - a tightly twisted and tender tummy area coupled with a sore back I just could not relieve.
Long story short my food intolerance's have now been handled, my tummy feels better, my back is fine, and I have tons of energy. The symptoms surrounding the withdrawals from the toxins I had consumed for so long include a complete loss of appetite, nil energy, chills all day, cold sweats all night, headaches I thought would make my head explode, and I was pretty much confined to bed 24/7 for almost 2 weeks. The complete detox, which began as a two week detox diet, took a period of almost one month from start to finish. I thought the process would only last for the length of the diet. I was wrong. After the diet the body had to handle the hang-over. It makes sense (in hindsight) because that is how fitness increases to:
1) You train (think of this as the detox diet)
2) You recover (think of this as the body dealing to the toxins)
At times during the detox process I thought that maybe I should just give in and go back to eating whatever but I hung in there and boy am I glad I did!
So, the good news? Detoxes can fix things you didn't know (or believe) were wrong with you.
The bad news? Once the body begins the process, the process takes over the body. And the process can get pretty rough. So don't detox when you are busy. Do it when you have nothing other to do. And, although everyone is different, be prepared for the process to last for a month or more. Once clean, stay clean and enjoy your new found vitality.
On balance, is the detox worth the trouble? I would say "Yes!", "Yes!", and "Yes!". I can't wait to start training again (it has been a whole year since I was last well enough to train!).
Wayne
Cell +64 21 176 4266
Office +64 9 282 3169
website www.freedomfitness.co.nz
email freedomfitnessbirkenhead@gmail.com
ps: Although temperatures are a little chilly of late around here in the morning, I now find these bracing. I bound out of bed in the morning, excited and anticipating another great new day. Before my detox my body could not regulate temperature well at all. Cold felt freezing and warm felt blisteringly hot. I never wanted to get out of bed in the morning, and I never wanted to leave the house and go into the sun during the day. My sensitivities to temperatures had been observed by my Doctor but what to do about it he knew not. Well, thankfully, now the problem has gone.
pss: Always check with your trusted health professional before following any new form of eating plan or exercise programme.
Saturday 17 September 2011
Date with a Lawyer - BNI Dance
There is a BNI (Business Networks International) Chapter called Harbourview that meets each Wednesday in the Community Centre attached to the Freedom Fitness PLUS gym. Actually, the Chapter was something I started in order to help fulfil the gym's mission of helping it's customers physically, socially, emotionally, intellectually, logically, and financially. But I had little to do with it becomming a reality after the initial meetings. Thank goodness in the first instance some really good people, who were able to hep us charter shortly after we began, were attracted to the Chapter.
One of the things important to a BNI Chapter is 'dancing'. This is when one member goes to the place of business of another. The purpose of the visit is to learn as much as you can about your Chapter Member's business. That way, you are better able to recommend them.
Here is my diary entry for the dance I had with our Chapter's lawyer, Aaron Nicholls, a guy I would rather have on my side rather than the opposition's any day.
One of the things important to a BNI Chapter is 'dancing'. This is when one member goes to the place of business of another. The purpose of the visit is to learn as much as you can about your Chapter Member's business. That way, you are better able to recommend them.
Here is my diary entry for the dance I had with our Chapter's lawyer, Aaron Nicholls, a guy I would rather have on my side rather than the opposition's any day.
Wayne Roycroft and Aaron Nicholls
Wayne arrived 25 minutes early. Aaron in the street on cellphone. Aaron accosted a friend in an SLK driving by.
Once he'd seen me we agreed to grab a bite. Lawyers patrol like a shark. aaron did steps very well. Hunched. Stressed. We got to table and Aaron threatened to relax.
I wanted a pie. Guessed there would be no pies served here. Aaron grabbed a menu each. I had guessed correctly about the pie.
Asked Aaron how long he’d been in law. 14 years. I put him just under 40 and he confirmed that he turned 39 near the beginning of 2011.
Waiter offered beer, as if Aaron always had it here. Aaron ordered a long black instead and we both ordered water. Said something about not having worked through the weekend like usual. Later I learned he had crashed for 36 hours.
He ordered a seafood salad. I ordered the Chicken Tandoori salad. Aaron’s phone rang. He disappeared for 38 minutes. I looked around the room. It seemed a good place for a lawyer to patrol. Lots of activity and beautiful women. If ever there was a place to find some matrimonial settlement work this had to be one. Lots of students it seemed. One tall, slim dark guy acting extremely camp surrounded by ‘girlfriends’ wearing black leather lace up dress shoes without socks. One girl speaking intently to another tall, slim dark guy who was rolling a cigarette and would soon go outside to smoke it. When he left the girl would sit next to other girls. When his cigarette was finished the guy would return to his seat on the couch now populated by a new girl who would replace the first for his attention. This crowd had pace. Too much pace for conservative and old fashioned me.
The waitress appeared concerned I had been left all alone. A waiter appeared with our salads. I gazed longingly out the window at a Jester’s pie truck outside.
At the end of the 38 minutes after having re-appeared at the top of the stairs and then disappearing down them again, hunched over his phone and in heated conversation with his caller. He made his way back to the table, sat down, and started eating, his conversation getting more and more heated all the time. The waitress cam over again to apologize to me for his abandonment. After another 20 minutes Aaron escaped his caller.
With his phone call concluded Aaron decided to order the beer after all. I seconded the motion. I went for that which I came to get. “Aaron, so what is your perfect referral?” Aaron responded.
Lawyers in New Zealand are plentiful. The only way for a lawyer to make it is to develop wholesome relationships with long term clients. A 2 year old company is a company with a good chance of survival and most likely to recognize the importance of pre-emptive legal preparation. I want to meet as many of those as I can, develop an understanding of their business, provide them the necessary legal service and advice from the 2 year mark that will keep them profitably out of trouble and able to lunch with me into my old age. I fully expect, once my portfolio has grown to the required profitable size, that the requirement for me to represent them legally will grow less and less likely because the pre-emptive systems I put in place at the two year mark will avert disaster. So there will be little for me to do other than to take the clients to lunch and leave any work to my minions”.
Went back to the office. Met Aaron’s partners in the legal firm, Chris (who gave me some fishing advice) and John. Aaron showed me some videos of his kids and we agreed to do some Families in the Park stuff together before he dismissed me and I left, elated and excited about spending time with one really cool legal eagle that did not result in a $360.00 invoice.
Monday 5 September 2011
When the blood reaches boiling point...
A young, progressive man of 19 years arrives at my gym. Career-wise he seems set for stardom. He is slim and stylishly dressed. He played soccer at school (even went to Phoenix, Arizona for a tournament) has never suffered any broken bones or injuries, takes no medication, and wants to work out. On paper it seems he can do anything. The only obvious visual sign there might be a health issue for this guy was the dryness of his lips and his eyes made him seem a little tired. Indicative of too little water consumption and rest perhaps?
As well as conducting some preliminary processes (which included health screening - and I must say everything looked just perfect in that regard) we checked his blood pressure before we began exercise. It was 120/95. Alarm bells ring... LOUDLY! What gives?
First, let's explain the blood pressure reading. If this guy's blood pressure were a pot of water on a stove it would not be far from boiling point. The blood pressure reading is all about the pressure on the arterial walls. The top number is the pressure when the heart is pumping blood, the bottom number is the pressure when the heart is between beats. An 'average' resting blood pressure is 120/80. A resting blood pressure of 120/95 is a cautionary tale because of that bottom number, "95" (when it should be closer to 80). It showed this guy's body was under quite a bit of stress. It is only 10am in the morning. So we dig a little deeper...
We find that this guy eats well and works relatively do-able hours. All good so far. Then we find that he does, and has for some time, felt lacking in the "zest department", hence his visit to the gym (in the hope that "a bit of fitness" is the cure).
Digging even deeper we discover that he drinks alcohol almost nightly and consumes an average of one large bottle of spirits every week. Folks, this is typical of many youth today. They have never discovered beer (they probably think that beer is only for 'light-weights' and 'pussys') and just don't know the full story about the effects of alcohol upon the body. We have a modern generation who has been taught that they shouldn't drink and drive so they believe they are being completely responsible if they get trashed and don't drive. When they feel a little slow they take on a gym membership to get back some fitness. As if (somehow) exercise un-does all the effects of alcohol (and drug) abuse.
We should be educating our kids way better than we do. And pronto! They can all recite the gospel on global warming, the banning of corporal punishment, no-smacking, youth rights, and sex education but they still lack critical knowledge that can help them when it comes to alcohol, drugs, and finances.
Gaining practical life-skills in relation to alcohol is not, and never should be, the domain of the education system. It is the role of the parents to help our kids to prevent alchohol, drug poisoning, and to teach things like basic financial literacy. The motto in this day and age seems to be "we can trust our kids to learn their own lessons as long as we remain their 'friend'". That is like saying I can trust my car to find it's own route at 100km/h down the motorway without steering as long as I remain seated behind the wheel.
Here is what the alcohol is doing to this guy.
His body is working overtime processing the toxins he constantly forces upon his body. Although he is slim in build I virtually guarantee that good, healthy, muscle weight contributes little to his mass (which has shrunk by 10kg's since he started drinking. Does that give anyone reading this a clue as to what this kid is experiencing physically at the moment?!?) Not surprisingly he feels like rubbish. His answer? Exercise! Get some fitness back! But here is the problem. If he over-exerts himself in my gym I am pretty certain to face an OSH prosecution when he falls down from my treadmill, dead because of a ruptured blood vessel somewhere (probably in his brain). The solution?
Someone needs to educate this kid. Yes, even though he can legally 'die for his country' at 19 years of age I still consider him a kid. Nothing to do with his age. My classification has far more to do with his level of understanding about certain aspects of life. He needs to understand that fitness is a two step process:
- Stress the body
- Let the body recover and super-overcompensate (that means the body will respond to the break down of muscle fibre and the nervous system by strengthening, repairing, and then boosting them).
Here is the dual challenge faced by this 19 year old.
- His body is run down already and he actually will physically struggle to stress it in the gym any more because it is already distressed.
- His body cannot recover from any physical (fitness related) stress he does manage to execute because it is way too busy processing the regular, constant, and un-relenting onslaught of toxins.
What does he need to do?
He needs to understand the effect such a large amount of alcohol is having on his health and his future. I know 100% that he is interested in a healthy future because he is highly motivated career-wise as well as intellectually and socially, and he came to the gym seeking fitness advice. I am not talking about someone exhibiting signs of having had a dreadful childhood, upbringing, or some such trauma. Those may be a little more tricky to deal with. This guy is motivated. He wants to live! He needs to cut down his alcohol consumption considerably and work on his fitness. This will probably involve him changing his lifestyle drastically, from his social habits to his work/leisure/rest patterns. He might need professional help should any addiciton to alcohol be the case. Written in steps:
- Cut down the alcohol consumption, asap! Get help to do so if needed.
- Continue to eat his Mum's delicious and nutritious home-cooked meals.
- Train regularly, at the correct intensity, and under proper instruction (hopefully his regular training will introduce him to some preferable social influences).
- Fully recover from his training between sessions in the gym. That means letting the body rest completely so that it can work on repairing the systems stressed during exercise instead of the stomach, liver and other vital organs damaged whilst trying desperately to process the fall-out from excessive alcohol consumption.
Gyms and fitness professionals like myself? I am not big on the often ridiculous (and scary for newbies) fitness testing that goes on in our industry unless it is for people aspiring to be athletic champions (and general gym fitness testing is probably lacking anyway in terms of it relevance for top-end atheltic pursuits). The majority of folks don't need to jump through all of the skin-fold, ergometer, tape measure and similar hoops (unless they really want to). They already know where they are at, RPE works very well, and training heart rate targets are not difficult to calculate. They will know for themselves that the gym is working for them within a couple of weeks or so. Until then it is up to YOU (their fitness professional and gym representative) to help them believe that their decision to join the gym is the right one. Help them. Do the tests that are useful (I think flexibility is extremely important). Don't scare them with all the un-necessary hoop-la that they really do not need. But ALWAYS check health history and BLOOD PRESSURE before letting a new member work out in your gym!
EPILOGUE (13 September 2011)
This next part of this story is encouraging..
Three days later the youth in this story returned. He had drunk more water and seemed a little less de-hydrated than before. He had drunk liquor the night after I had first met him in the gym but not the night before this particular gym visit. This time his blood pressure was 120/65. After I asked he revealed he did suffer episodes of dizziness. I advised him that if he continued his tight rein on his alcohol consumption and regularly came to the gym that his blood pressure would most likely begin to normalise and that, with a more normal blood-pressure level, the occurrences of those dizzy spells would be significantly reduced. He ran a good 10 minutes on the treadmill and then performed some stretching. He was amazed at how much better he felt and adamant his lifestyle had permanently changed. Two days later he returned to the gym at 6.30am. He told me that he had thought about drinking the night before but made the decision not to. He said it was an easy decision. He did 30 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of stretching. He had jogged down to the gym and was jogging home to get ready for work.
As well as conducting some preliminary processes (which included health screening - and I must say everything looked just perfect in that regard) we checked his blood pressure before we began exercise. It was 120/95. Alarm bells ring... LOUDLY! What gives?
First, let's explain the blood pressure reading. If this guy's blood pressure were a pot of water on a stove it would not be far from boiling point. The blood pressure reading is all about the pressure on the arterial walls. The top number is the pressure when the heart is pumping blood, the bottom number is the pressure when the heart is between beats. An 'average' resting blood pressure is 120/80. A resting blood pressure of 120/95 is a cautionary tale because of that bottom number, "95" (when it should be closer to 80). It showed this guy's body was under quite a bit of stress. It is only 10am in the morning. So we dig a little deeper...
We find that this guy eats well and works relatively do-able hours. All good so far. Then we find that he does, and has for some time, felt lacking in the "zest department", hence his visit to the gym (in the hope that "a bit of fitness" is the cure).
Digging even deeper we discover that he drinks alcohol almost nightly and consumes an average of one large bottle of spirits every week. Folks, this is typical of many youth today. They have never discovered beer (they probably think that beer is only for 'light-weights' and 'pussys') and just don't know the full story about the effects of alcohol upon the body. We have a modern generation who has been taught that they shouldn't drink and drive so they believe they are being completely responsible if they get trashed and don't drive. When they feel a little slow they take on a gym membership to get back some fitness. As if (somehow) exercise un-does all the effects of alcohol (and drug) abuse.
We should be educating our kids way better than we do. And pronto! They can all recite the gospel on global warming, the banning of corporal punishment, no-smacking, youth rights, and sex education but they still lack critical knowledge that can help them when it comes to alcohol, drugs, and finances.
Gaining practical life-skills in relation to alcohol is not, and never should be, the domain of the education system. It is the role of the parents to help our kids to prevent alchohol, drug poisoning, and to teach things like basic financial literacy. The motto in this day and age seems to be "we can trust our kids to learn their own lessons as long as we remain their 'friend'". That is like saying I can trust my car to find it's own route at 100km/h down the motorway without steering as long as I remain seated behind the wheel.
Here is what the alcohol is doing to this guy.
His body is working overtime processing the toxins he constantly forces upon his body. Although he is slim in build I virtually guarantee that good, healthy, muscle weight contributes little to his mass (which has shrunk by 10kg's since he started drinking. Does that give anyone reading this a clue as to what this kid is experiencing physically at the moment?!?) Not surprisingly he feels like rubbish. His answer? Exercise! Get some fitness back! But here is the problem. If he over-exerts himself in my gym I am pretty certain to face an OSH prosecution when he falls down from my treadmill, dead because of a ruptured blood vessel somewhere (probably in his brain). The solution?
Someone needs to educate this kid. Yes, even though he can legally 'die for his country' at 19 years of age I still consider him a kid. Nothing to do with his age. My classification has far more to do with his level of understanding about certain aspects of life. He needs to understand that fitness is a two step process:
- Stress the body
- Let the body recover and super-overcompensate (that means the body will respond to the break down of muscle fibre and the nervous system by strengthening, repairing, and then boosting them).
Here is the dual challenge faced by this 19 year old.
- His body is run down already and he actually will physically struggle to stress it in the gym any more because it is already distressed.
- His body cannot recover from any physical (fitness related) stress he does manage to execute because it is way too busy processing the regular, constant, and un-relenting onslaught of toxins.
What does he need to do?
He needs to understand the effect such a large amount of alcohol is having on his health and his future. I know 100% that he is interested in a healthy future because he is highly motivated career-wise as well as intellectually and socially, and he came to the gym seeking fitness advice. I am not talking about someone exhibiting signs of having had a dreadful childhood, upbringing, or some such trauma. Those may be a little more tricky to deal with. This guy is motivated. He wants to live! He needs to cut down his alcohol consumption considerably and work on his fitness. This will probably involve him changing his lifestyle drastically, from his social habits to his work/leisure/rest patterns. He might need professional help should any addiciton to alcohol be the case. Written in steps:
- Cut down the alcohol consumption, asap! Get help to do so if needed.
- Continue to eat his Mum's delicious and nutritious home-cooked meals.
- Train regularly, at the correct intensity, and under proper instruction (hopefully his regular training will introduce him to some preferable social influences).
- Fully recover from his training between sessions in the gym. That means letting the body rest completely so that it can work on repairing the systems stressed during exercise instead of the stomach, liver and other vital organs damaged whilst trying desperately to process the fall-out from excessive alcohol consumption.
Gyms and fitness professionals like myself? I am not big on the often ridiculous (and scary for newbies) fitness testing that goes on in our industry unless it is for people aspiring to be athletic champions (and general gym fitness testing is probably lacking anyway in terms of it relevance for top-end atheltic pursuits). The majority of folks don't need to jump through all of the skin-fold, ergometer, tape measure and similar hoops (unless they really want to). They already know where they are at, RPE works very well, and training heart rate targets are not difficult to calculate. They will know for themselves that the gym is working for them within a couple of weeks or so. Until then it is up to YOU (their fitness professional and gym representative) to help them believe that their decision to join the gym is the right one. Help them. Do the tests that are useful (I think flexibility is extremely important). Don't scare them with all the un-necessary hoop-la that they really do not need. But ALWAYS check health history and BLOOD PRESSURE before letting a new member work out in your gym!
EPILOGUE (13 September 2011)
This next part of this story is encouraging..
Three days later the youth in this story returned. He had drunk more water and seemed a little less de-hydrated than before. He had drunk liquor the night after I had first met him in the gym but not the night before this particular gym visit. This time his blood pressure was 120/65. After I asked he revealed he did suffer episodes of dizziness. I advised him that if he continued his tight rein on his alcohol consumption and regularly came to the gym that his blood pressure would most likely begin to normalise and that, with a more normal blood-pressure level, the occurrences of those dizzy spells would be significantly reduced. He ran a good 10 minutes on the treadmill and then performed some stretching. He was amazed at how much better he felt and adamant his lifestyle had permanently changed. Two days later he returned to the gym at 6.30am. He told me that he had thought about drinking the night before but made the decision not to. He said it was an easy decision. He did 30 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of stretching. He had jogged down to the gym and was jogging home to get ready for work.
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