When we say REAL, we mean foods that your great-grandmother (or someone’s great-grandmother) would recognize; a product of nature, not a product of industry. It doesn't have a long ingredient list, it isn’t advertised, and it doesn’t contain long unrecognisable words.

Shop locally, and go for fresh single-ingredient foods; that way you can buy natural, unpreserved food whilst supporting your local community and avoid the highly processed goods that crowd every shelf of our supermarkets.

The more the better! It’s difficult to overeat on the stuff, but if we were to put a number on it, aim for 800g of colourful veg and fruit per day. The colours of our veggies and fruits determine what vitamins and minerals they contain, so rotate them regularly.

As a guide, work your starchy foods (like rice, potatoes, quinoa, corn etc.) around your training. Since these are the body’s primary source of energy, use them to fuel your workouts and activities.

And finally, keep your proteins for your evening meals when you have the time to unwind and relax. Protein takes a lot of energy to digest, so make sure your body is in a calm state to help efficiently process these foods.

If you are able to keep to these simple guidelines, take note of improvements in your sleep, performance and mental clarity. Let us know how you go!

If it’s not sustainable, then it’s not for you.

Short-term "dieting" is not the way forward, especially if you are looking for long-term progress. Yes, it may yield fast results, but what then? We often see dieters bouncing back to square one (or minus one!) when returning to their ‘normal’ way of eating. The answer isn’t ‘dieting’. It’s shedding poor eating habits and introducing new and better ones.

If you’re going to make any regular changes, we recommend varying your food with the seasons whilst keeping your food natural, fresh and locally sourced. Go for foods that are more readily available at that specific time of year. Aim for more fruits & veg when the weather is warmer and more fats and proteins during the colder months. If you’re buying locally, that should be pretty easy!

“Consciousness is only possible through change; change is only possible through movement.” Aldous Huxley, The Art of Seeing

We love challenging ourselves in training, but only once we’ve mastered correct form in our movements consistently across reps and sets.

Mechanics – can you move well/safely

Learning to perform exercises safely should be your first prerogative. Developing sound mechanics will dictate the safest, most efficient way to execute movement, and since movement is a priority to maintain for your WHOLE life, it’s vital to learn how to do this correctly. Ensure you can continue to perform activities pain and injury free, and continue to progress.

Consistency – can you move well every rep

Once proper mechanics have been established, we then need to learn how to maintain this for multiple reps. Holding the right tension consistently will allow for safe and efficient movement patterns during training, even when we mix up equipment, rep schemes or type of loading.

Intensity – can you move well under stress (speed, load)

Once you’re able to maintain proper mechanics, we can then look to increase the intensity in your training. If you’re holding tension incorrectly under higher intensity, significant breakdown will undermine the hard work you’ve put into building good technique in the first place.

A degree of breakdown in mechanics is to be expected as workouts get tougher, however not to the extent of moving ‘unsafely’. Balancing safety, efficacy, and efficiency is SO important, but that’s all part of the fun in learning movement patterns and reaching new levels of intensity.

Don’t confuse quantity with having to train in the box EVERY DAY! By no means are we expecting you, or encouraging daily gym training without recovery. We promote picking up hobbies outside of the gym walls - a sport, hiking or long walks are perfectly decent activities to keep you moving outside of the box. Get the heart and breathing rate up, and enjoy challenging yourself in a different environment.

Rather than only moving in the gym, utilise your training to aid in other areas of your life.

Hands up if you want to live a long, happy and pain free life! Yeah, we’re with you!

All too often we see training utilised as a tool for reaching specific aesthetic or performance goals. Now, we’re certainly not knocking this, BUT, what happens once the goal is met?

Change how you view movement so it becomes a part of your life , for the REST of your life, not only will you perceive training as an opportunity to feel good on a daily basis, but also appreciate that you need to move your body with kindness.

Intensities may change over time but good movement is an important key to living a long and healthy life.

“We are the average of the five people we spend the most time with” American entrepreneur, author and motivational speaker, Jim Rohn

If you spend most of your day surrounded by negative and destructive connections, it’ll soon enough reflect in your own thoughts, behaviours and demeanour. Connecting with people who promote a constructive and uplifting mindset, will inevitably boost your morale.

However difficult it may be to find distance from those close to you, if they are not supportive, it’s time to put yourself first to grow alongside like minded individuals.

Build a tribe that will lift you up, not bring you down.

Fewer friendships which bring deep connection, great conversation and solid support is way more important than gaining hundreds of acquaintances, or 10k followers on Instagram. Your small tribe will bring you way more joy than many unfamiliar, meaningless interactions.

More is not better.

Better is better.

As with anything, building a solid relationship (with family, friends or partners) takes effort and consistency. The more consistent you are with your relationships, the more dependable and trusting those bonds become.

Think of when you’re trying to maintain or reach a weight goal, the more consistent you are with your diet and training, the more likely you are to reach your goal. It’s exactly the same in relationships; building trust, dependability and strong connections takes consistent effort and energy.

So if you haven’t called or stopped by in a while, stop waiting for them to invite you - drop by and check in, it might be the very thing they need.