More Than Macros

For all the hype and build, the festive season for many can be filled with angst - a bulging social calendar, sporadic training and the inevitable stressors that come with family gatherings can make the end of year a tough situation to navigate. 

Join Ben and Tahlia as they sit down to talk perspective and the big picture approach - the essential survival guide for the festive season! 

Enjoy

If you surveyed 100 Crossfitters and asked them what their least favourite movement is, the overwhelming majority would side with the humble burpee. The seemingly easy task of lying down in a prone position then getting back to your feet, finishing with a little jump off the ground, doesnt seem that arduos a task... until you have to do them in volume. 

This year, Coach Ben and a few other bloody good humans  decided to put their burpees where their moustaches are, in a bid to raise $2500 for the Movember foundation, and for every dollar of that $2500 they raised, they would match with burpees at the end of the month. 

Well, thanks to the generosity of the community, the goal was well surpassed within the first few days of word getting out, and the training began. Now, the day looms near as Coach Ben and three others embark on completing a mammoth 2500 burpees EACH!

It's not too late to donate and you can do so here; https://movember.com/m/13412967?mc=1

New Coach Alert! 

We're growing. 

The MTMM methodology works. It's simple to integrate as it's built around your life, your schedule, your training requirements and your health and performance goals. 

And because the program is so effective, the demand for it continues to grow. In order for the MTMM team to continue to affect real change within the community, we need to continue to grow as well, as we are excited to announce the newest MTMM Coach - Tahlia Roberts. 

With a background in critical care nursing, Tahlia's involvement within the health industry goes back years as has her desire to find the balance of improving her own health and physical performance amidst the challenges of long, stressful hours on rotating shift work. 

Want to learn how to navigate the challenges of night shift on your long term health and performance? Then Coach Tahlia is the coach for you. You can book your FREE initial consultation with the link below, and we're offering a discounted 10% off for the first 10 individuals that book in to get started! 

https://MTMMonlinebooking.as.me/tahlia

This week, we sat down with  @Andy Tait   to talk all things coaching - how to help clients overcome fads, improve relationships with food and how to work through the emotional baggage that often manifests as issues with nutrition. 

Enjoy

Don't pray for an easy life - but the strength to survive a testing one.

Comfort zones are great, but nothing ever grows there - so with so much to gain from struggle through hardship and adversity, why are we so eager to avoid the very discomfort we need?

In this episode of the podcast, we sit down with Brett Piperni, to deep dive into this very idea and understand that while setbacks like major injury may hinder our self confidence in the short term, ultimately all great obstacles and hurdles can be of huge benefit if we deal with them with a growth mindset. 

Enjoy

After a long but very unplanned hiatus, we are finally back on the airwaves! 

Chris Ackland is the Owner of Iron Tribe Weightlifting and a very special friend of the podcast. On this episode, we talk through the changes since re-opening post covid, the plans for moving forward with the tribe as well as how to get to the crux of what's most important to establish when setting goals with your members of clients. 

Enjoy

The overwhelming majority of people that begin a journey of health and performance have weight / fat loss as their underlying motivator. But for many of them, a fat loss phase might not be an appropriate starting point. 

On this episode of MTMM Radio, Ben and Kat talk through the fundamental considerations that often go unmentioned and need to be addressed before embarking on a deliberate fat loss phase, including:
- Assessing dietary history to determine appropriateness of a more regimented approach to nutrition and training
- Understanding the true and honest motivation for fat loss
- Setting timelines for milestones, achievement and diet breaks as necessary
- Proper road map planning into and out of, the fat loss phase
- 'Earning' you cut with extended time at maintenance to practice consistency of behavioural application before increasing the degree of difficulty. 

As always, we assess each client on their particular individual histories, needs and circumstances - and if you need some assistance in your planning or execution of your nutrition plan, you can reach us at www.marriedtomymacros.com

November saw the long awaited return to the Powerlifting platform for both of our MTMM Powerlifting coaches - Maggie and Laura - as both coaches got the opportunity to showcase the work they've been putting in over the competitive hiatus, each earning their qualification to Canadian Nationals! 

In this episode of MTMM Radio, Maggie and Laura walk us through their perspective preps, their actual lifts (shown) as well as how they managed the mental side of returning to in person competitions. 

The coaches also explain the how-to behind competitive powerlifting, so if it's something you've been thinking about doing - this is the episode for you! 

Enjoy!

As coaches, we are highly in favour of an 80/20 approach for the majority of our clients. It's a number that when achieved allows for measurable and quantifiable progress, while at the same time allowing for the freedom and flexibility to avoid feelings of restriction - this is a great approach for long term sustainability.

The reality of our situation is that we, and many of those we coach, compete in weight class based sports, that at specific times of the year, do require a more detailed and deliberate approach to our nutrition, when it comes to needing to weigh a very specific amount on a very specific date. 

This was exactly the challenge ahead of Coach Maggie's return to the Powerlifting Platform, and for moral support Coaches Kat and Ben decided they too would join Maggie in a 30 day macro compliance challenge. 

How did it go? What were the lessons learned, the unexpected hurdles and how did the coaches handle them over the 30 days? Only one way to find out! 
Enjoy! 

At MTMM, we believe that the key to healthy relationships with food and body are derived through knowledge, understanding and the application of both. For some clients, tracking is appropriate at times. For others, not so much - but we could all benefit from a greater understanding of the foods we choose to eat.

Want to find out how our coaches can help you achieve your health, performance and body composition goals?
https://www.marriedtomymacros.com/how-to-start

‘Between stimulus and response lies a space. In that space lie our freedom and power to choose a response. In our response lies our growth and our happiness’. 

 If you haven’t read Victor Frankl’s ‘Man’s Search For Meaning’ then it’s about time you did. A chilling recount about the realities of surviving in a concentration camp within which, finding meaning and recognising accomplishment were elements not only to be found, but to be considered essential for survival. 

WIth that in mind, it's hard to understate the importance of finding meaning in the mundane, creating rituals and behaviours that lead to feelings of accomplishment  and on this episode of the Podcast, Melissa Linke and I sat down to talk all about the power and self awareness that comes within that moment in time, right before a decision is made and a subconscious habit formed. 

If there’s one thing Mel coaches, it’s the appreciation of the behaviours and habits we so often don’t even realise underlie our regular decision making and are ultimately responsible for the circumstances and positions we currently find ourselves in. 

Want to change your life? Start evaluating your habits, your behaviours and look to deep dive into understanding what’s driving those 10,000 decisions you make each day without even realising. 

I really enjoyed Mel’s perspective on coaching and habit tracking, and if you’d like to find out more about Mel and her approach, you can check out her 365 Lean program, or download her FREE habit kickstarter kit here: www.365leanhabits.com