Richard and I have been working together for a few years now. He helped me open my very first business and also helped me realise how much more I had to offer the world as a coach. He also helped me to change my entire life set up by sponsoring me in triathlon and adopting me as the Aesthetic Entrepreneurs Performance coach – one of the things I love doing most in all the world! It has been my privilege to have also been asked to be Richard’s personal performance coach. Richard recently sent me this to share with the world, about his most recent journey. Richard will be the first to admit he is not always an easy person to coach, which is why it is all the more heart-warming to hear the things he has to say about how coaching has helped him go from, in his own words, “Fat Dad to Spartan”.
I’ve struggled with my weight and body image for a few years, since I retired from Rugby, but I now weigh pretty much the same as I did in August last year. I dropped 10kg during lockdown, but let’s face it that wasn’t real world – in a bubble it’s easy, which is why health retreats work. Soon as you get home the old behaviours kick in and you’re back to square one.
Last year I had a bit of a health kick, focused on eating, training hard and doing all the “right” things. Dropped a few Kg, felt good and sweet. Job done, right?
Wrong.
What I hadn’t done is focused on the long-term plan, no real strategy other than “get the timber off”.
TBH shedding timber isn’t too difficult for me, but as you can see the challenge is in maintaining that consistency and as a result, the weather turned, my own mental picture deteriorated and boom…..I ate the planet last Autumn.
This time it’s a little different.
Working with Stevie, I had a bit of a mental reset at the end of the year, and we found a goal to work towards – three Spartan events. One in April, one in July and a big one in October. Working with the Pocket Rocket created a plan with me that looked at long term SUSTAINABLE actions.
Stevie talks about setting small, actionable goals that didn’t suck the joy from life. I still have a beer, eat Bacon, and the occasional cheeky MaccyD, but Stevie challenged me to change my behaviour and supported me with a new mindset towards my training.
Little and often, small steps, run then walk, stretch, regular mealtimes, personal accountability and being accountable to Stevie and the process.
No excuses.
Make decisions and own the consequences, that is the only true way to growth, and sometimes you need someone who looks you in the eye and calls you on your bullishit. Thast is uncomfortable for many, too many performance coaches will let you off the hook, but not Stevie. That is EXACTLY what I need.
The result is a compound effect. Quantum Leaps are hard to get and hard to maintain, but they are attractive to us all. We want the result without the grind, we want the body without the graft, we want the money without the sales, we want the win without the work. Stevie makes you do the work. So if you are a high performing professional, who doesn’t like being told what to do, will rebel at every opportunity and behave like a small child, you need to work with a strong, patient and capable coach who will work as hard as you to reach the goal you set. That’s Stevie. So be careful what you wish for, you WILL get it.
If you want to find out more about how coaching could help you improve your relationship with food, set long term goals, accomplish your next physical challenge or improve your all round life performance score, get in touch and book your free 30min intro call with me.