A Bit Of A Boost

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson

 

I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.

 

10 years ago I was mid-way through running 10 marathons in 10 days and it felt fitting that I record an episode on the topic this week as I reflect on this challenge.

 

There were 10 big lessons that I took away from this challenge that I recorded soon afterwards, and reading back over them recently made me realise how many of them I have ingrained into my life.

 

This episode delves into each of these lessons and how they apply to a variety of different aspects of life beyond running or sports, and then as I went to upload the episode I realised that I did actually record a similar episode about 2.5 years ago!

 

The one that seems to resonate in particular is 'you can only run the road that you're on', hence the name of this particular episode.

 

So here we have it, my updated version, possibly with a few new reflections in case you're feeling short changed by having a repeat topic to listen to!

Welcome to A Bit Of A Boost, I'm George Anderson, a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.

 

I recently returned from a week away with the family and a couple of people asked if I exercise whilst I'm away, or put my feet up and relax.

 

The short answer is 'both', but the longer answer is this 16 minute podcast episode!

 

Listen in to find out about my personal approach to training whilst on holiday / vacation.

 

I hope this episode gives you a bit of a boost!

You know how important mindset is to you approach to challenges and other situations, but how do you go about improving it?

 

It's about more than 'being more positive', and the more awareness and understanding you have about your mindset the easier it becomes to start making changes that will benefit you.

 

In this episode I describe the 4 Peak Performance Mindsets, how to spot them and what you can do to start developing them.

 

I have developed a free self-diagnostic tool you can use to determine your Performance Mindset Score, and see how you are doing for each of them 4 Mindsets individually.

 

bygeorganderson.scoreapp.com

 

This will give you a starting point to start developing them in day to day situations, so that they become your defauly mode of operation.

 

There is also a brand new Mindset Boost program available on the Boost Wellbeing & Performance app, that guides you through the process of strengthening each of the 4 Mindsets:

 

bygeorgeanderson.com/mindset-boost

 

 

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson

 

I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.

 

I’m delighted to welcome back to the show one of my favourite guests, David Robson who previously joined me back in February last year after I had read his book The Expectation Effect.

 

I’ve just finished reading his latest book and I think you’ll find our conversation about it today both interesting and informative.

 

The book is called The Laws Of Connection and is really a play book for how we can build deeper and more meaningful relationships with the people around us, and also some of the more unexpected benefits from doing so.

 

David also unpacks some of the research that shows how we may be better at socialising than we may think, talking about phenomena such as the Liking Gap.

 

Of course, I highly recommend you have a read of the book itself which is out this week, but in this podcast we get into several of the 13 strategies and learn many new things:

 

• how asking for help benefits you and the person you’re asking
• how to express gratitude and pay compliments effectively
• and why a strong social network even improves our ability to fight off illness.

 

I think you’re going to enjoy this one, so get ready for a bit of a boost!

 

The book is available on Amazon and all good book stores.

 

Read more about David on his website here: https://davidrobson.me

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson

 

I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.

 

After a short break from the podcast I'm back, with a look at INNER performance... what it is,  how to measure it, and how and why to improve it.

 

Usually when we think about performance our thoughts run to the external markers; the KPIs at work, the times we run or the weight we lift in our training, or generally the results we're getting in life.

 

But all of these are outcomes that are influenced by our inner performance.

 

Your focus, clarity, empathy, mindset, optimism, energy... all of these (and many more) elements will have an impact on your behaviours which in turn largely dictates your results.

 

If you're enjoying A Bit Of A Boost and would like to leave a review or rating, I would very much appreciate the support. Equally if you give the show a follow or subscribe and share your favourite episodes with your friends, all of this helps me to spread the word and reach more people.

 

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson

 

I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.

 

My guest on today’s podcast is author of the book The Curveball, Colby Sharma.  

 

Colby shares his own personal story of growing up and having to overcome adversity, and how this experience lead him on the path not only succeed in his education and a career in law, but ultimately to become a real motivator and expert in resilience.

 

During the course of our conversation we get into the 4 central messages in his book, and what I love about the way Colby describes them is the way he makes them so practical.

 

It’s very easy to think of resilience as quite an abstract quality, that we maybe know we should have more of or be better at, but how exactly do we do that?

 

We talk about breaking big challenges down into manageable steps, how to get better at controlling our response to difficult situations, prioritising the rituals that lead to our best performance and building a team around us that can support us through anything.

 

We both end up sharing personal experiences through the course of our conversation, and some interesting insights came through for me right here within the interview which was a reminder in case I needed it that we are all always learning.

 

Colby's book 'The Curveball' is available from Amazon:

https://amzn.eu/d/2xPW83L

 

Connect with Colby on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/colbysharma

 

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson

 

I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.

 

Today we discuss strengths... not the 'strengths and weaknesses' where you should 'work on your weaknesses to turn them into your strengths', but the elements of your character that you may or not already be aware of are something of a super power.

 

I talk a lot about strengths with my clients and in presentations, and there's a free tool you can use to identify your top 5 'Signature Strengths'.

 

If you head over to https://viacharacter.org you can take the free survey and I encourage you to do so (after listening to today's episode of course!)

 

The 24 Character Strengths are grouped into 6 categories:

 

Wisdom

1) Creativity 2) Curiosity 3) Open-mindedness 4) Love of learning 5) Perspective

Courage

6) Honesty 7) Bravery 8) Persistence 9) Zest

Humanity

10) Kindness 11) Love 12) Social intelligence

Justice

13) Fairness 14) Leadership 15) Teamwork

Temperance

16) Forgiveness 17) Humility 18) Prudence 19) Self-regulation

Transcendence

20) Appreciation of beauty 21) Gratitude 22) Hope 23) Humor 24) Spirituality

 

We all have all of these strengths, but some come more naturally to us than others and it's the top 5 that we're really interested in.

 

If you can find ways to harness and use these strengths more, you can elevate your wellbeing, performance and impact in almost any aspect of your life.

 

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson

 

I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.

 

I came across some research recently about the impact of open water swimming on menopause symptoms, and was delighted when the study author Professor Joyce Harper accepted my invitation to join me on the podcast to discuss it.

 

Having had an overwhelmingly positive response to a previous episode on menopause with Catherine O’Keeffe I know this is a topic that many of you are interested in so I was excited to get into the topic again.

 

Joyce Harper is an award winning Professor of Reproductive Science at the Institute for Women’s Health, University College London.

 

She has worked in the fields of fertility, genetics, reproductive health and women’s health for over 30 years, is author of the book ‘Your Fertile Years’ and host of the ‘Why didn’t anyone tell me this?’ podcast.

 

You can find out more about Joyce and her work at joyceharper.com

 

Purchase a copy of Your Fertile Years on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/152935627X

 

Listen to Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me This on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Etr1ygKlT7aLgrW4B0fyg

 

Link to research and Joyce Harper’s academic profile: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/jan/cold-water-swimming-improves-menopause-symptoms

I was fortunate enough to attend the recent World Happiness Summit (WOHASU) in London a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share a couple of takeaways from the event along with some more general observations about what comes up when I ask the question 'what does happiness mean to you?'

 

The strapline of the conference was 'Wellbeing is the Purpose' which gives a clue about at least one of the dimensions, but what does this really mean and how important is it that we find our purpose?

 

That's one topic that I get into in today's episode, along with the 2 different timescales that we can think about happiness in - short term moment by moment 'positive affect' happiness, and longer term life satisfaction.

 

Hopefully today's episode all about happiness will give you a bit of a boost!

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson

 

I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.

 

There's a 'mild to moderate controversy warning' for today’s episode, as we get into the topic of stretching… not ‘the best ways to stretch’, but exploring the question ‘should we be stretching at all?’

 

As trainers we're taught the importance of stretching as part of a warm up routine to help avoid injury and to enhance the performance of your body during the workout.

 

Then at the end it’s essential to stretch the muscles to return them to their original length, reducing muscle soreness and tightness the next day.

 

Then of course it’s important to include developmental stretches in your routine so you can increase your joint range of motion and maintain flexibility through your life.

 

My guest today is Ryan Phillips, a personal trainer and Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) expert and in 2008 we sat side by side in our very first seminar on MAT at a fitness convention where we learned that maybe all wasn’t as it seemed with these so-called ‘rules’ about stretching.

 

For me it was interesting, for Ryan it was the start of a long journey into his education in MAT, and a successful practice that he now combines with personal training.

 

In our conversation today we start off by talking about some of the changes we’ve both seen in the fitness industry over the last 2 decades, and get into a topic I find fascinating which is why some people are ‘low responders’ to different types of exercise.

 

If you’ve ever wondered why some people get far better results than others despite doing the exact same training, this will give you some interesting insights!

 

And then we really get into MAT, what it is and even some simple ways you can start applying the principles today.

 

We discuss why, if stretching is so ineffective - or even BAD for us - it can feel so good?

 

Ryan explains what’s actually happening to our muscles and joints when we stretch, and the role the nervous system has to play in muscle tightness.

 

Ryan is a true master of the work that he does and his Instagram page @muscleactivation is packed with education, case studies and tip to help you move better, get stronger and reduce injuries.

 

Have a go at some of the exercises and movements that Ryan suggests during our interview, and notice what a difference it makes. 

 

As well as Instagram, you can connect with Ryan and find out more about his 'Get Activated™️ Programme of Isometrics' on his website:

https://www.phillips-fit-brighton.co.uk/get-activated

 

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Some of the research that Ryan mentioned in our interview is listed here:

 

Stretching myth 1 - stretching improves your sporting performance:   A 60 second stretch before a vertical jump test reduced performance (jump height) by 3.4% http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24936897   Static stretching before running slowed down the initial 100m pace and jump height was reduced by over 9%   http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24905918 http://img2.timg.co.il/forums/1_150249330.pdf https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/Chronic_Effects_of_Static_and_Dynamic_Stretching.94938.aspx     Stretching myth 2 - stretching helps to prevent injuries:   A meta analysis of 60 different randomized control trials showed that stretching had no benefit to injury prevention what so ever. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24370993     Stretching myth 3 - stretching before/after exercise reduces muscle soreness:   No significant reductions in DOMS by stretching before/after exercise. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21735398     Stretching myth 4 - stretching increases range of motion in people with limited mobility due to contractures (chronically tight muscles):   "Stretch does not have clinically important effects on joint mobility in people with, or at risk of, contractures if performed for less than seven months. The effects of stretch performed for periods longer than seven months have not been investigated." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20824861     Stretching myth 5 - stretching your muscles makes them longer:   "After 6 weeks of static stretching, no structural change in muscle length was detected despite a significant increase in range of motion which can only be explained as being a change in tolerance to the stretch." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24856792      Also, no structural change in fascial length after stretching: http://www.jelectromyographykinesiology.com/article/S1050-6411(15)00063-2/abstract?elsca1=etoc&elsca2=email&elsca3=1050-6411_201506_25_3_&elsca4=Orthopaedics