3 Things That Are Helping Me Right Now

 I'm back with another newsletter, a newsletter which is still lacking a name but that'll be sorted next week 🫠

I really hope you found last weeks very first addition helpful and I promise to keep delivering you some awesome value going forward.

Todays email is all about ME!

Not from a narcissistic point of view 😂

No, instead I want to share a few things, three to be exact, that are currently helping me with my health & fitness endeavour’s.

I don't pretend to have all the answers, nobody should, but I do implement some things daily that can be really beneficial to just about anyone who is willing to put the effort in.

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3 Things That Are Helping Me Right Now

#1 Lots and lots of posterior shoulder work

Since around 2019 I've had a bit of a dodgy right shoulder. At one stage it got really bad and was very painful.

Having the skills and knowledge I do around pain-free performance, I was able to navigate around the issue and keep on training.

Notice how I said 'around' and not fix the issue.

Yes I couldn’t do some of the things I wanted, but I got on with it.

Coaches are often the worst people at following their own advice.

I've told the story before of the time I was doing one of my specialist courses and the instructor asked a room full of 15+ PT's how many were currently dealing with some sort of pain and every single one of us put our hands up 😂

Anyway, I finally got my shit together a few years ago and decided to actually fix the issue. My shoulder is by no means perfect, but it's a thousand times better than it was.

I can do push ups with 40kgs on my back and pull ups with 20kgs around my waist, my shoulder is doing pretty good!

But it still has room for improvement. Knowing that, over the last 4 weeks I've been including a lot more exercises that strengthen the posterior muscle of my shoulders.

I've been adding them into the start and end of at least 2 of my sessions during the week and after just a few weeks I can already say it's having a BIG positive impact.

Not only do my shoulders look better, but they feel better, stronger, and the odd ache is becoming less and less frequent.

People often neglect this muscle, maybe because it's not as 'sexy' or fun to train as the other parts of the shoulder, but it's so IMPORTANT!

My 2 favourite exercises at the moment are DB Reverse Flies on an Incline Bench and Standing Cable Reverse Flies. You can check out videos for either one by clicking on them.

I do between 2-4 sets of each and reps range from 10-25+.

💡 Pro tip: Don't squeeze your shoulder blades together, that's not the goal. Rather, think about pulling with your arms and using the rear of your shoulders to power the movement 🔑

#2 My Whoop Strap

I've been a Whoop member for at least 4-5 years, maybe even a bit more. I absolutely love this little gadget that NEVER leaves my wrist...

Much to the annoyance of my wonderful fiancé who wishes I cleaned it more 😂

The Whoop strap is a brilliant health tracker and while there are plenty of options on the market, this one is the best in my opinion!

I use it for a few reasons, but the main one is tracking my SLEEP.

Every morning it lets me know what my sleep was like. The length, the quality, the various stages, how often I woke up, how long it took me to get to sleep, it gives me a bunch of really helpful information.

This information in solidarity is kinda useless, but over weeks and months it helps provide fantastic insights into both my sleep performance and sleep habits.

I by no means rely on it, and it doesn’t dictate how my day will go, but it does help me stay more accountable to my sleep targets and as a result, my sleep has never really been better.

There's so many great options out there and I highly recommend you invest in a health tracker that measures your sleep.

#3 Electrolytes In The Morning 

You and me both know what that groggy feeling when you first wake up in the morning feels like.

If you're anything like me the first thing you do, after saying good morning to Bella of course 🐶, is go straight to the fridge and pour yourself a cold pint of water.

Recently, I'd say maybe the last 2 months, I've been putting electrolytes into that early pint of ice cold water, and well I'll be damned...

It's been bloody incredible!

Within minutes I feel instantly hydrated and that groggy feeling is complexity GONE.

Now I don't know it there's a slight placebo effect coming into play, but regardless it's been a game changer.

I use electrolytes to keep me hydrated when I do my long runs at the weekend, but I woke up a couple of months ago, maybe i had a few drinks the night before, and made a decision that I'm genuinely very happy about.

That also says a lot about the person I am if this sort of stuff makes me happy, but it does 😂

I use a brand called 'Isostar'.

A Quote For The Moment

“I haven’t failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work"

- Thomas Edison.

I'm a firm believer in 'failing your way to success'. I failed more times than I can count, and I'm being completely transparent when I tell you that I fail most weeks.

But, I don't perceived 'failures' get me down or stop me, rather I use them positively to help me learn and grow.

So, don't see failure as a bad thing and instead start seeing it as an opportunity for bigger and better things.

Just like I did with my shoulder pain, i failed and failed until I landed on a winning solution.

Have an awesome weekend,

Yours in health 🙃

- Mark

P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here’s a few ways I can help you:

1. Are you an ambitious entrepreneur or professional who wants to get strong, lean, and boost your energy? Then apply for my 1-1 coaching here.

2. Take my free Professionals Health & Fitness Strength test to uncover the areas needed to take your results to the next level. Click here to start