LIVING AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE
As coaches we profess the value and benefits of an active lifestyle, but too often we aren’t practicing what we preach.
Coaching is a demanding job and can drain your physical, mental and emotional energy. One way to restore that energy is through exercise.
WHAT DO YOU DO TO STAY ACTIVE?
When I coached full-time I found it very hard after spending 10 hours (most often more) of my day thinking about swimming to motivate myself to hop in the pool. Because of this I found other activities to keep myself fit including rock climbing, trail running, kayaking and yoga.
This had many tremendous benefits. I was not only staying physically fit, but it also gave me a chance to create another focus away from the pool and create social relationships outside of the sport of swimming.
WHAT ARE THE ACTIVITIES THAT GIVE YOU THE MOST ENERGY?
WHAT ARE YOUR FITNESS GOALS?
We teach athletes to make SMART goals. Goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound.
Almost all coaches can list off the SMART goals they have pertaining to their teams performance in the pool, but how many can do the same for other areas in their lives?
CREATE ONE SMART FITNESS GOAL. IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE HUGE, BUT CREATE A WELL STRUCTURED GOAL AND BUILD A PLAN TO ACHIEVE IT.
HOW CAN MICRO GOALS HELP YOU BUILD MOMENTUM?
Changing a habit is not easy. Micro goals are a great way to transform behaviour.
One of my favourite authors Tim Ferriss talks about this in terms of rigging the game so you can win it. Ferriss, who is prolific in his writing, has stated one of the best pieces of advice he was given is to write two crappy pages a day,“I was told at one point, your goal should be two crappy pages per day. That’s it. If you hit two crappy pages, even if you never use them, you’ve succeeded for the day.”