Blinco Built in Fremantle, Western Australia | Fitness trainer

Blinco Built

Locality: Fremantle, Western Australia

Phone: +61 415 500 478

Address: Unit 4/59 Forsyth Street 6163 Fremantle, WA, Australia

Website: http://www.blincobuilt.com.au/

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25.01.2022 JANUARY FLASH SALE TODAY ONLY!! 50% OFF!!!! We have 4 spots left for our February 21 Day Challenge and we want them gone TODAY!... Comment ME below or message me to claim your spot now! It’s time to LIFT! With our 21 Day Challenge Our classes cater to all levels of fitness Get stronger, fitter and healthier over the next 21 Days This program isn’t about aesthetics, it is about empowering yourself and truly seeing what you are capable of! Our program is specifically designed to. Teach proper lifting technique Build confidence in the gym Progressively learn new movements and test yourself We are specifically looking for 10 women who are committed to making a change So if you’re sick of Not seeing results Lacking confidence or motivation in the gym Lacking in specific fitness goals and targets What you get: Unlimited Semi-Private Personal Training Access to your Private Facebook Group Proven and Flexible Nutrition Guide that you can fit to suit your lifestyle Full accountability and support Our specialised app for tracking your weights and making sure you're getting stronger every week! Comment ME below to claim yours before they run out

25.01.2022 MEMBER IN FOCUS This week we start a new series looking at the amazing members we have here at Blinco Built! We decided to kick things off with our resident pocket rocket Sarah Grundy, an absolute pleasure to coach, always quick with a smile and, most importantly, remembers to laugh at ALL of my jokes ...Continue reading

24.01.2022 Lets Talk About Stress Part 2 Major Areas of Stress The second part of the Stress series is going to look at the common causes of stress as well as some stressors that you may not have thought of before The first thing to note here is that a stressor isn’t necessarily good or bad, it generally depends on your ability to cope with it, exercise being a great example, training 10-15 times a week can be great if high performance is your goal and you prioritise recovery, i...f you don’t however, it can lead to increased rates of disease, such as cold and flu, increased rates of injury irrespective of good form, trouble sleeping etc Major areas: - Emotional grief, depression, anxiety, guilt - Career loss of job, increase or decrease in responsibilities (good or bad), change in jobs, lack of progression or learning, unclear progression, chemical exposure - Relationships both intimate and platonic, family can all be challenging - Environmental city living, plastics, household chemicals - Physical exercise or lack thereof, lack of movement such as long periods sitting without getting up to move It might be helpful to write down what you perceive to be your top 3 sources of stress that you want to address, now it’s important we don’t write those down in a negative way, stress is a source of great growth, and that’s what this process is about, becoming aware of what is challenging us so that we can map out a path to grow ourselves and our support networks to adapt to these stressors This is deeply personal, you might look at some of those and think, doesn’t stress me at all, and that’s because you have processes or systems in place already to deal with that stress, whether you’re aware of it or not, and really that’s all we want to create with the sources of stress that do cause you anxiety or worry It’s important to never think something is too hard for you to manage because without a doubt there is a stressor that you find easy to cope with that another person thinks is way too hard and the only difference is you’ve come up with a system and they haven’t, so you know it can be done, because you’ve already done it Lastly, it’s really important to remember that everyone gets overwhelmed at times, you are not alone, and it’s okay, you’ll be surprised by the amount of support you have around you if you just ask, people are often deeply touched that you trusted them enough to speak to them and it can lead to amazing interactions Stay tuned for Part 3 Ways to Manage Stress Blinks

23.01.2022 Lets Talk About Stress Baby As someone who has had to deal with anxiety and depression throughout my life I’ve done a LOT of work on stress management over the last few years and it really has transformed my life, my health, my thinking, my outlook, my relationships, it’s been incredible Not to say I don’t still deal with anxiety, I do, but now I have methods in place to make sure I stay on top of it, and I haven’t had a spell of depression in a long, long time, despite h...aving a lot more stressors and a lot more riding on my decisions than ever before This will be the first article in a series on Stress starting with the impacts of too much stress, the common and uncommon causes of stress before moving onto stress management techniques we can implement to reduce our chronic stress and get better at handling acute stressors that pop up in life, and hopefully by the end you will see that stress is actually a positive thing and crucial to growth when handled the right way So lets get into it, The Impacts of Stress: There are some pretty significant effects of stress on the body - Increases in risk of heart disease and high blood pressure - Accounts for around 30% of infertility issues - Causes weight gain and increases chronic cortisol production which can increase accumulation of belly fat - Can increase global inflammation in the body, affecting the organs and gut health - Lower energy levels due to poor sleep and impacted blood sugar levels It basically messes you up! And you can quickly see why someone like me thinks this issue is crucial, it can MASSIVELY impact your health and results from training! By being under stress all the time you are basically signalling to the body that you are constantly under threat and then when you pile training and restrictive nutrition on top of that your body doesn't know you're just lifting heavy weights and counting calories it thinks you are wrestling animals and dealing with starvation so it has an evolutional response by retaining body fat and weight and constantly keeping you switched on meaning recovery, sleep and growth don’t happen as they should So you’re saying we shouldn’t train or look after our nutrition? No! Do those things but we also need to address your sources of stress (article no.2) with management techniques (article no.3) to make sure we get the absolute most out of that effort, after all we aren’t sweating our arses off for nothing! Stay tuned team! Blinks xo

23.01.2022 Read This: If You Want Pull-Ups I’m yet to have someone come into the gym and not want to be strong enough to do a pull-up. It’s the ultimate expression of body strength, and probably the hardest to achieve, but it is achievable with persistence and some smart programming So, where do we start? Probably no surprise that we have to start with a whole body strength program that applies progressive overload, strength training 101. Whole body strength is important for things ...like push ups or pull ups as these moves happen over a number of joints, the elbow and shoulder primarily, but also at the hip in terms of being able to stabilise the mid section while you pull with the upper body (as well as the lat originating at the hip) Lets assume that we are following a good whole body strength routine, what can we add to optimise our pull-up progression? Seems obvious, but we need to practice the move, some form of pull ups in the routine, and there are many roads to Rome, so I’ll go through a few and the benefits and deficiencies of each Banded Pull-ups Probably my least favourite method. They provide greatest assistance when stretched at the bottom of the movement when you don’t need it as much and least assistance at the top of the movement when you do really need it The positive for them is that you can control the assistance and they can be a great starting point to moving your body in the pull up motion Leg Assisted Pull-ups Something I have been introducing a lot recently is leg assisted pull-ups where the control of assistance is moderated by how much leg is used to assist Major benefit is that you can engage the lats and practice the movement on the pull but also bias the eccentric (downward) portion where we are typically stronger leading to greater gains in strength The only real downside is that people can cheat, so making sure it remains an upper body movement and not just a squat is crucial Negative Pull-ups Practicing only the eccentric portion of the movement is great to build strength in the muscles, and should be used at some stage in any program looking to build pull-up strength, although as they don’t practice the complete movement I wouldn’t use them as the only method Also, leg assisted pull-ups can be modified to include a negative bias as a change up I have also seen the use of kipping pull-ups to build strict strength to great effect, although it’s not a method I use as I believe kipping requires greater shoulder stability than strict (even though momentum makes them slightly easier), meaning they should come after strict, rather than before Hopefully this helps, I’ll chuck up a post on my Instagram @Blinco_Built with a typical pull-up training plan I would use Blinks xo

22.01.2022 CARBS ARE THE DEVIL Got your attention? How often have we read this in the last 10-15 years? I’m pretty sure we’ve all genuinely believed this in the past I mean if you don’t dive deep into the research then it is pretty easy to demonise carbs for the current obesity epidemic, carb intake has dramatically increased over the past 40 years in line with obesity so how could you not? Then again, so has fat and protein intake, so where does that leave us?... I’ll tell you where, in CALORIC SURPLUS Thermodynamics can’t be ignored, calories in vs. calories out rule weight loss or gain When looking at the dramatic increase in carb intake it’s also worth noting that a lot of processed, so called high carb foods actually also contain a lot of fat, take Doritos for example, of course everyone knows corn chips are a high carb food, right? Actually, over 50% of the calories in Doritos come from fat mind blown! Lots of calories, low protein and low fibre = eating heaps without getting full! Absolute dream for food manufacturers So why do low carb diets work so well when it comes to weight loss? A couple of reasons, firstly, you pretty much take out an entire macronutrient without any plan to replace it, meaning you drop your calorie intake, secondly, your body converts carbs to glycogen which also takes water in order to store it in the muscle, 3 grams for water for every gram of glycogen which means when you deplete glycogen with a low carb diet you will also drop a heap of water weight in the short term, which the body will be correct eventually Does this mean you should avoid low carb diets? Well, no, I still use them with my clients, initially they can be great for a kick start, early results are a significant determinant of whether you will continue with a program or not and the biggest thing with any long term health plan is consistency! If it’s going to help you stay on track then definitely use it! But you can still eat carbs and lose fat and keep it off, if you stick to some guidelines: 1) Choose predominantly whole food options like fruit, vegetables (yes potatoes are okay, just not always fried ;) 2) Treat processed options as a sometimes (less than 1-2 times a week) 3) Consider what you eat with it, eat whole carbohydrate sources with a source of protein and good fats Personally I don’t eat carbs with my first meal, not for a fat loss goal but because I find my energy is better throughout the day if I hold off on carbs till after I’ve trained, but experiment and see what works for you Blinks xo

21.01.2022 Why We Go Low-Carb to Start If you’ve ever done any research into diets then you would know there are about 100 different camps of die-hard supporters each claiming their way is the best, and there are now even those who have taken flexible dieting, generally known as a more moderate approach and are preaching that everything else is wrong. No wonder you’re confused As always the answer to what to do is lurking somewhere in the grey area, which doesn’t translate well to ...Instagram where people want to have a following and therefore look to be controversial, but basically we use different tools for different jobs, like you wouldn’t hammer a nail with a screwdriver, it’s probably possible but there are better ways to get it done That’s why I like to start with a low or even no carb approach for 90% of my clients, not because I think it’s the BEST diet approach, but because the vast majority of people that come to me are eating a standard western diet, or close enough to it that they could really benefit from cutting out carbs which more often than not leads to rapid, early weight loss and particularly, fat loss Most of the benefit of a low carb approach to the average person comes from taking out an entire macronutrient that is hard to replace with a comparable amount of protein or fats due to the difference in satiety these provide when compared to low fibre carbohydrates There are also some additional benefits that will help later in the fat loss process as well when we look to reintroduce carbs, such as reduced blood sugar levels, increased insulin sensitivity and increased loss of visceral fat (fat around your organs) So, how do we start? We use 4 days of absolutely no carbs to begin with and are pretty strict on the adherence to that. We only do 4 days because that strikes a great balance between what is really achievable whilst still getting some pretty incredible results Admittedly, a large portion of the early weight loss is attributable to water weight, but you still get a leaner look and feel A LOT better and how motivating is it seeing the scales drop so rapidly, especially if you’ve been trying for a long time with no results! It can be life changing Low-carb isn’t for everyone, but if you’re looking for something to give you some early results and kick start your fat loss journey it is definitely a tool that can be used to great effect!

21.01.2022 1600 calorie day Weight loss for a 60-65kg female training 3-4 times a week and doing 8,000 steps a day, this would be a good starting point, adjusting as required It doesn’t have to be boring and it doesn’t have to cut out all the fun, have your treats, carbs, fats, flavour in the right portions and find something you’ll actually stick to... Breakfast 2 x eggs 70g spinach Olive oil 195 cal Lunch 150g chicken breast 170g steamed brown rice 100g broccoli Moroccan spices 540 cals Dinner 150g lean beef mince 250g sweet potato 50g tomato paste Spices etc 580 cals Snacks 40g vegan protein 1 x banana 1 x apple 2 squares Lindt 70% dark choc Blinks xo

20.01.2022 The decision has been made, that’s it, you’re getting fit and losing 10kgs! Done! Except for one not so little hurdle, the family Now don’t get me wrong of course your wife/husband/kids want the best for you and want you to be happy and healthy and feeling great, there are so many benefits to everyone around you, more energy to do things with those you love, better mood when you are doing things with the family, better in bed, the list goes on!... But it can be an imposition, following a meal plan sounds like an awesome idea, scientifically structured meals designed to guarantee weight loss or whatever Lets see how that goes when the rubber hits the road and it’s time to cook 2-3 different breakfasts, lunches and dinners, it’s a pain, for EVERYONE! Maybe there’s a better way, maybe if instead of a meal plan, you control portions instead, sure there still needs to be measuring (using a your hand), tracking (how many palms of protein or fists of carbs are you eating), and accountability (a coach or friend making sure you are doing what you said you would), but it allows you to eat the same foods as the family but in portions that allow you to lose weight Sound too good to be true? Well, accountability is still key, and of course if you want to truly make a change you might have to cut DOWN (not OUT), but you’ll actually feel better for it, even before your pants start feeling too loose, add in 3-4 sessions of strength training and you won’t be the only one feeling great It doesn’t have to be hard for everyone, find a way that fits with your lifestyle and everyone benefits

20.01.2022 Crisis, or Opportunity? Every crisis is the chance to grow, in fact I'd argue that without the pressure there can be no growth The weight must be heavy enough to make you work to push it back up again otherwise there's no point, you're just spinning your wheels... I'm no different, and this last week has seen me work harder and longer than I ever have to get into a position whereby I can help more people than ever! In the next few days we will have the birth of Blinco Built Online, It's an amazing platform that will allow not just gym workouts to be programmed and tracked, but home workouts, stretching programs, nutrition tracking and meal plans, wellness, stress and sleep tracking as well as exercise videos, recipes..... the list goes on You'll get the Blinco Built daily accountability and incredible results no matter where you are! I'm incredibly excited for the opportunity this will bring to people I haven't previously been able to reach More details to follow shortly, in the meantime if you are working from home and pulling your hair out already, comment ME below or send me a message and get yourself shortlisted for the first 21 Day Trial at a greatly reduced cost Spots will be strictly limited for the first intake so make sure you get in quick!

20.01.2022 HOW TO SET UP A DIET PLAN You can’t out train a bad diet how many times have you heard that? And honestly it’s true, you are what you eat and to have any hope of results, weight loss, fat loss or muscle gain, you need to get your diet right Now, there are quite possibly a million ways to do this and a heap of factors to take into account, but I’ll try and keep it as simple as possible, you don’t want to spend days, weeks or even months THINKING about how to fix your d...iet when you could just START and see what happens 1) Weigh-in 3 times a week You need to track whether your diet changes are working, so you are going to weigh yourself 3 times a week and at the end of the week add those numbers together and divide it by 3 to find your average weight for the week, this will allow you to see whether you are losing or gaining weight week on week, two weeks without change or gaining weight then you lower calories in or increase calories out to get back on track 2) Next we get an approx. calorie intake number: (22 x Bodyweight (kg) x 1.3) 250 I’m assuming you are training 3-4 times a week and hitting 8,000 steps a day, if you aren’t, start, like NOW! We then fill up this number of calories with our macronutrients (Protein, Fats, Carbs), Protein and Carbs contain around 4 calories per gram and Fats around 9 calories per gram The minus 250 is to create a deficit (calories in vs. calories out, we need to make sure we eat less than we use in order to lose weight), if you want to be aggressive you can increase this to 500 3) Protein intake I won’t go into why protein is so important in this post but it is and so we calculate it first 2 x Bodyweight (kg) (x 4 to figure out total protein in calories) 4) Good fats Around 25-35% of your calorie intake as fats is a good start for fats, we want to be making sure we are getting enough, and no, fat does not bypass digestion and bind straight as body fat, nothing does that so don’t go around fearing food groups or fat or carbs 5) Fill up the rest with carbs Ideally we prioritise fibrous carbs and unprocessed sources with as much variety and colour as possible, sweet potato, brown rice, pumpkin, berries etc How does this look: 75 kg Female (wants to lose weight) Calories: (22 x 75 x 1.3) 250 = 1,895 calories a day Protein: 75 x 2 = 600 calories / 4 = 150 grams Fats: 1,895 x 30% = 570 calories / 9 = 65 grams Carbs: 1,895 1,170 = 725 / 4 = 181 grams There is no one size fits all approach but this at least gives you a starting point and you can adjust and experiment to see what works best for you, remember it’s better to take action and start imperfectly than to sit around trying to achieve perfection all the while not moving towards your goals! Blinks xo

19.01.2022 Berridelicious Who else is getting in touch with their naked chef? Been on the hunt for awesome, healthy recipes and this one is a winner over 40g of protein and 7g of fibre you just can’t go wrong ... INGREDIENTS - 130ml Almond milk - 80g Strawberries - 40g Vegan (or Whey) Protein powder - 65g Vegan or Greek yoghurt - 75g Blueberries - 60g Raspberries INSTRUCTIONS Dump in the ninja or bullet and blendddddd

19.01.2022 The TRUTH about sustainable diets Want to know the truth? "Sustainable diets are NOT a thing, the absolute truth is that if you aren’t ready to make a change to the way you eat then there is not a single diet that is sustainable for you Not a very helpful start! Well, the fact is when most people get a surge of motivation to change they dive straight into a diet, exercise, wellbeing plan that completely turns their life upside in the space of a week, or sometimes a day... When we’re in this space this seems like a great idea, but hopefully sitting back looking at this from the outside it’s easier to see why this might be setting up for failure. The reason why is that changing habits and behaviours is hard, it takes consistent daily practice and time, at least 66 days and anywhere up to 250 days (AGES!) So how we expect ourselves to change every habit we have around eating and exercise in a matter of a week or even a couple of weeks. It’s not reasonable and no matter the diet, it’s not sustainable Instead, we should look for the easiest change to make that will move the needle towards a healthier lifestyle, maybe that’s going for a walk a day, even a 10 minute walk is a positive step (excuse the pun) in the right direction Maintain that first change every day for at least 7 days before introducing a new one, and one by one introducing new small habits which you are certain you can follow What this does is build momentum, like a snowball, at first tiny but as the changes keep stacking up it gets bigger and bigger gaining momentum until it’s unstoppable It’s not a sustainable diet you are searching for, it’s sustainable behaviours and habits, start small create some wins and build slowly, you've got a lifetime ahead of you

18.01.2022 No matter what is happening in the world, there is a moment you get between what happens to you and the response, that is the moment to decide whether to laugh or cry Or in Marks case, do some soul searching Hopefully this makes you cry laughing ... Be kind to each other, never know what someone’s going through, spread love, spread laughs, we could do with more of those #perthmums #perthfitness #fitnessperth #groupclassperth #perthhiit #perthgym #eastfreo #eastfreofitness #melvillemums #bringinglifetotheriver #blincobuilt #underconstruction

16.01.2022 FESTIVE SEASON SURVIVAL GUIDE Episode 2: HOW TO TURN OVEREATING OVER CHRISTMAS INTO A POSITIVE How good is Christmas? By far my favourite time of the year, family, joy, presents, events, FOOD!! Seriously, how good is the food?? My mums roast ham, on Christmas day and then fried in the pan in sandwiches for the 3 days after, my dads seafood, trifle, cheese and crackers by the bucket load!... We know we’re going to eat more than we normally do, so how to stop ourselves for feeling absolutely terrible for doing it and stop gaining 2kgs of body fat in less than a week! Did you know that it’s actually easier to put on muscle in a calorie surplus, and while we might not want to always put on weight, a calorie surplus can actually be beneficial, you know to grow some muscle So what’s the answer? You might not be surprised by the answer, we turn a negative into a positive and. WE TRAIN! I don’t say exercise, because we want to exercise with some purpose, we want to lift some weights make the body put to use those extra calories, if we’re going to be in caloric surplus we might as well make the body build some muscle, turn a negative into a positive So many people say, "it’s Christmas I’ll just relax and let go of the training", with the honest intention of getting straight back into but the reality is you had a routine, you had momentum, but instead of saying "the routine might be a bit all over, I’ll keep the momentum and get the routine back later", they dump both Can you pick momentum straight back up? No! It needs to be built over time, and all those body fat you gained and all that conditioning lost will take time to correct (and the facts say that the vast majority, don’t get it back!) How do we fix this? We keep momentum, you just need to make the decision that you want to stay on track and make yourself give up the excuses and get into the gym and TRAIN! As a bonus there’s something really empowering about turning what most would see as a negative into a positive, in bucking the trend and actually getting stronger and growing muscle at time when most are doing the opposite Don’t let the fun of Christmas be the disappointment of January, hit the year with momentum and a win! Blinks xo

16.01.2022 Intermittent Fasting You might have heard about intermittent fasting (IF) and its reported, almost magical benefits and wondered if you should do it, if it’s right for you and actually HOW to do it I’m going to try and answer those for you today and I will mention my bias, I intermittent fast, have been doing so for about 3 months and I love it, it’s definitely worked for me so I am a proponent for it, in the right context...Continue reading

15.01.2022 TRAINING WHEN FULLY SIK Having recently survived the effects of man flu (might have been a minor cold, who knows?), I thought it would be timely before we hit winter to post an article about training when sick As a general rule I like to take the first day I come down with something off, anecdotally I feel like this reduces the time I’m sick, but that is just a feel thing for me and I don’t miss many sessions in general so I definitely don’t feel bad about missing less th...an a handful of sessions a year through sickness It’s also worth noting that there’s training and then there’s moving the body, just because you have a day off training doesn’t mean you can’t go for a walk or do some stretching if you’re up to it, low intensity activity that doesn’t make you pant actually increase the immune response so can be really beneficial when sick Firstly, there’s the old Neck Rule, above the neck, runny nose, sore throat etc then train, and below the neck, chest cold, body ache then don’t, which is a good guide to get started Of course, we instantly rule out training with any kind of fever as training will increase your body temperature even further and it doesn’t take much of a change in temperature to start doing some serious damage, generally though if you have a fever and other flu like symptoms it’s pretty obvious training is out of the question Also, persistent vomiting or the runs will rule you out, apart from the obvious risk of spraying the gym floor (yuck!) it could well point to some serious issues that you need checked before you think about stressing your body (and the gym’s cleaner) further Lastly, we better touch on not getting others (like your coach) sick, if you are a bit sniffly then follow the guidelines, bring some tissues to wipe/blow your nose, wash and sanitise your hands, COUGH INTO YOUR ELBOW, that type of thing Bonus point: combining both cardio and strength training (3x week best, gets worse over 4x week) over a long period of time actually strengthens the immune system, so train hard, train consistently and you’ll be doing your bit to avoid getting sick in the first place! Blinks xo

15.01.2022 VIETNAMESE SESAME BEEF Simple and delicious beef recipe, can be paired with cauliflower rice for a lower carb version or even stir fry some capsicum, onion and broccoli in peanut oil with a splash of soy sauce, super easy meals INGREDIENTS... 450g flank steak chopped into 1cm strips 2cm of ginger, grated 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 2 tablespoons of fish sauce 1 tablespoon oil teaspoon black pepper 60g of black and white sesame seeds INSTRUCTIONS To make the marinade, combine the ginger, garlic, fish sauce, oil and black pepper in a large bowl. Add the strips of beef to the bowl and toss to coat before setting the beef aside to soak up the flavours for between 30 minutes to an hour After the beef has marinated, place the sesame seeds in a sealable bag, add the beef and gentle shake the bag so that they become well coated Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the beef in batches and flash fry on both sides until it is cooked Serve the sesame encrusted beef with a chilli sauce for an added kick!

14.01.2022 How to Get Out Of Bed and Train There aren’t many conversations I have that don’t start with I’m just not motivated and I get it, Without motivation it's hard to get started, so rather than just telling you that you don’t need motivation (you don’t), I’m going to give you a method to follow to at least eliminate it from the part of your life that makes training so hard... It’s actually quite simple, you just need to get off the dopamine cycle! The main difference between you and a drug addict is your addiction, you see we are all chasing a hit of a dopamine, it’s just that we get it from different places, and you might say but I’m nothing like a drug addict, and that’s true in some ways, but when it comes to dopamine, we're all chasing a hit, it’s just from different sources We get a hit of dopamine from the thought of doing pretty much anything, it’s what drives our desire to eat, drink water, train, check our phone, respond to work emails. Obviously our sources aren’t all created equal, so cocaine gives you more dopamine than checking your phone, which give you a lot more dopamine than training etc. The key here is that if you do something that releases a big hit of dopamine, like checking your Facebook or emails first thing in the morning then everything else for the day that gives you less dopamine all of a sudden becomes less desirable and if something isn’t desirable then there’s no motivation to actually do it! Telling yourself you’ll just willpower your way out of it doesn’t work either, or at least it won’t work forever. You need to make it harder to check your emails or Facebook than it is to train first We do that by deleting those apps Not permanently, don’t have a heart attack, we just delete before bed each night and our reward for training, is to reinstall them, get the low dopamine stuff out the way and then check your emails/DM’s/Tinder etc Give it a try for 1 day, literally just tonight and tell me it’s not easier to train, you might not ever bother reinstalling Facebook again

13.01.2022 BREAKFAST TACOS Breakfast foods are the BEST foods, don't bother arguing, waffles, eggs, hollandaise, shakshuka, vegemite on pancakes, the list goes on So I thought I'd drop a great little recipe you can whip up on the weekend instead of going out for breakkie and save yourself $385, not to mention 1000 calories, without losing any flavour ... INGREDIENTS 4 6 to 8 inch soft corn tortillas teaspoon ground cumin 400 grams tin black beans, rinsed and drained teaspoon dried chilli flakes 130 grams mild salsa 4 large eggs, fried cup shredded cheese 1 ripe avocado, sliced INSTRUCTIONS Begin by preheating your oven to 220C Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and place in the oven to warm, about 5 minutes will do, if you don’t want crisp tortillas, just cover them in foil Meanwhile, gently warm the cumin in a small, dry pan over medium heat until it smells aromatic, then add the beans and chipotle or red pepper. Mix well. Remove the tortillas from the oven and arrange on a board or serving platter then spoon some beans onto each, then top with some salsa, 1 fried egg, and some cheese Return to the oven and bake until the cheese has melted Serve warm with the sliced avocado

13.01.2022 Are Cool Downs Worth the Effort Does anybody cool down anymore or do we just go straight from workout to car to shower to office (work from home desk).. I’m guessing there’s more of the former than the latter This means that we aren’t coming down from that high stress, exercise mode and straight into recovery mode, you might even just be going straight from stress to stress and not winding down till after work, in which case you’re missing a whole day of recovery and probably... impacting your sleep, especially if you train later in the day What is a cool down? Traditionally, people stretch or do something a little less vigorous and then there was a heap of research saying it doesn’t reduce injury blah blah blah I think there’s an argument to be made for a cool down, not in the traditional sense, but to at least take 2-3 minutes to reduce your heart rate and get yourself back into recovery mode as soon as possible, and it doesn’t have to take too long, 2 minutes is long enough This is how it would work: 1) Completed workout 2) Grab some water 3) Sit comfortably on your towel (cross legged ideal) 4) Take 5 deep breaths 5) Last sip of water, get up and leave That it, pretty simple, you’d be surprised how much of a difference a few deep breaths can make to get your heart rate down and get your body into rest and recovery mode straight away The detail is in the breathing, you’re going to breath in for 4 seconds, hold for 2, then out for 8, following these guidelines: 1) Your deep breaths shouldn’t be loud, they should be gentle like you’re trying not to disturb the hairs on the inside of your nose 2) Breath into the belly 3) Think heavy body, relax, if you find yourself tensing up, make it easier, hold for 1 and out for 6 4) Try to focus just on the breath, gentle and silent This will put in your more of a recovery state and ready to reap all the rewards of your training

11.01.2022 Anxiety Please read if you are full of anxiety right now We define anxiety as a problem and lump it with depression, even I’ve said in the past that I suffer anxiety However, I believe that anxiety serves an important purposes and sometimes it’s the correct response... Think about standing on the edge of a jetty with 100s of sharks in the water below in the middle of a feeding frenzy with the water bright red, you’d feel pretty anxious standing on the edge, and that’s the right way to feel, the problem would be if you DIDNT feel anxious! Think about that problem but now it’s dolphins and they’re swimming around playing, not so dangerous, and probably no need for anxiety other than whether you can swim or not I guess Now think about the problem, but you can’t see clearly whether they’re dolphins or sharks, what do you do? How do you feel? Whenever I approach a situation and there are unknowns I like to create a bit of space, I get just enough information to be able to assess the situation, I focus on the problem and that helps calm me down What doesn’t help is TOO MUCH information, if I’m trying to decide if they’re sharks or dolphins it doesn’t help to know how many people sharks have killed in the last year in Japan, or that sharks have 1082 teeth, or anything other than, are they sharks or are they dolphins, otherwise I’m just feeding my fear and anxiety In the Age of Information, this isn’t an easy task, personally I’ve stopped following all news sites on Facebook along with anyone peddling conspiracy theories or hodge podge info or copy and pasted posts from people with anecdotes, my only information comes from reputable scientific institutions like Science Journals, scientific bodies or Government declarations The rest, is counting sharks teeth Remember to breath, create space and think about what really matters and what is the next step, then the next, then the next, one after another Look after yourselves and each other Blinks xo

10.01.2022 5 EASY STEPS TO STICK TO YOUR DIET According to my Instagram Poll (@Blinco_Built) over 80% of you wanted some tips on how to stick to a diet! And that doesn’t surprise me, the fitness industry average for results over 8-week challenges are around 4% and anecdotally I’ve seen this firsthand in big gyms that use strict meal plans with huge calorie restrictions, IT DOESN’T WORK!...Continue reading

10.01.2022 Happy Sunday Guys You may or may not have heard about the Corona Virus.... a lot of hysteria and sensationalist headlines flying around at the moment, mixed with some solid practical advice, the latter of which we are choosing to follow The good news here at Blinco Built is that we are in a really good spot to handle this as we have:... - a very large space - very small class sizes (limited to 6 people) - separation from other gym users - an otherwise quiet gym Even so, rest assured, we have got a step by step, risk management plan in place (benefits of 7 years experience in Insurance ), the first stage of which will start tomorrow - BEFORE EACH SESSION: washing your hands in the kitchenette to the right as you walk in the gym, 20 seconds with soap - AFTER EACH SESSION: Repeat above - Trainers will be cleaning down equipment between each session - High fives, hand shakes, bum taps, chest bumps, inappropriate touching, all temporarily suspended On another note, as well as the health concerns for the elderly and those with co-morbidities, this is going to be an extremely tough time for small business, if you have a coffeeshop, butcher, bakery or similar small business you love, make sure you keep visiting them or even visit them more during this time, you get the benefits of missing the crowds at Woolies or Coles and you also ensure they're still around in 2-3 months time Blinks xo

09.01.2022 EASY AND DELICIOUS LAMB SOUVLAKI Who doesn't love wraps? This is a delicious and easy recipe for a homemade lamb souvlaki, give it a crack and enjoy! ... You can always swap out the lamb with falafel for a vegetarian option that still contains a good bit of protein INGREDIENTS (4 serves) 1 tablespoon of ground cumin 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 lemon, juiced 1 tablespoon of olive oil 500 grams of lean lamb, cut into strips 4 corn tortillas 4 teaspoons of sweet chilli sauce cucumber, chopped 2 tomatoes, sliced 1 red onion, finely sliced 4 tablespoons of low-fat Greek yoghurt INSTRUCTIONS For the marinade, combine the cumin, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl and adjust the seasoning to your taste Add the strips of lamb to the marinade and make sure that it is well coated before placing in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to absorb the spices In a large pan, fry the lamb until it is cooked to your liking and then leave it to rest for 5 minutes In the same pan, heat the tortillas until they are slightly charred Spread each tortilla with sweet chilli sauce before topping with the cucumber, red onion and lamb Finish with a dollop of Greek yoghurt and enjoy! NUTRITIONAL INFO (per serve) 387 Calories 30g Protein 30g Carbs 17g Fat 3g Fibre

09.01.2022 WANT TO LOSE WEIGHT? THIS IS A MUST READ I hear this A LOT I want to lose 5-10kgs, but my diets fine I don’t eat too much..... The fact is, if you’re overweight, then you eat too much for your current activity level, there is no way around the thermodynamics or calories in vs. calories out, in terms of weight it is that simple Easy fix right? Increase your activity level and you’ll lose weight, so simple but life isn’t simple and that’s a good thing, if life were simple it’d be boring and more importantly I wouldn’t have a job :/ Here’s why that doesn’t work, your body hates change, even positive change, it always wants to stay the same (homeostasis) so as soon as you increase your steps from 1200-1500 to 8000+ a day, incorporate weight training and cardiovascular work 3-4 times a week guess what your body does? A lot of extra things (increased metabolism) that end up making it demand a lot more calories and so it sends its debt collectors (appetite) to your brain to tell you to eat more food or it’ll break your legs (figuratively, of course) So where does that leave you? Firstly, really hungry, secondly with no change in the types of foods that got you overweight in the first place you’ll likely just increase your calories to match the increased activity and end up staying 5-10kgs overweight, exactly where you started What’s the solution? You HAVE to address your diet, the types of foods, the amounts of foods, the timing, what triggers you to overeat/drink, all these things are really important for long term weight loss and the great thing is you don’t have to address each one individually, as with a lot of things, 20% of the work will get you 80% of the results You have to track what you eat, at least to start with, either by counting calories or portions, either way YOU HAVE TO KNOW exactly what you’re eating so that you can manage it, this also gives you a good idea of what portion sizes should look like I track my food for a week or so every 3-6 months if I notice my weight increasing and it gives me a kick up the bum because I see my portion sizes have creeped up and I’ve slowly given myself allowances to eat things I really do not need And the best thing is because I’ve done this before I know exactly what it takes to get back on track, in other words, I have a long term, sustainable process to keep me on track for life! Blinks xo

09.01.2022 GO TO SLEEP! Move over gut health, sleep science is the next health trend that will take over the fitness world! The more I learn about it, the more I can see why... So, my overarching philosophy of health uses the 4 pillars of wellness model: a) Training b) Nutrition c) Sleep (or sometimes called rest & recovery) d) Stress (sometimes called Mental Health/Wellbeing) You may have seen the pantheon type image of these 4 pillars holding up health or wellness Now, I don’t propose changing that model as such, I just think that modern lifestyles have made sleep and stress the most prominent and least understood pillars Training and nutrition are tough, you have to make them a priority and find a way to keep yourself accountable, but there are literally thousands of people able and willing to help with those two and a quite a few of those are pretty good at what they do It’s the sleep and stress part and how that goes in hand WITH training and nutrition that is the more complex part of the equation. You see, bad sleep leads to decreased use of the pre-frontal cortex, the decision making part of the brain and more use of amygdala, the impulsive part of the brain. You can see why this would be a problem! You go from making conscience decisions to making impulsive decisions, for example when it comes to get yourself out of bed an hour early to train, or and making the decision on whether to eat chocolates from the lunchroom fridge. And this shift can occur after just one night of bad sleep! You can imagine what chronic poor sleep over weeks or months or years does! Sleep also has impacts on fitness by: - balancing insulin and circulating glucose levels - regulating appetite - maintaining gut health - increasing cardio fitness! Pretty important stuff! You can see how chronic poor sleep can make losing weight and getting fit an almost impossible task! So, how do you know if you’ve had poor sleep? You should ask yourself these two questions: a) Could you fall back asleep at 9-10am? (assuming a wake up of around 7am) b) Can you function optimally without caffeine before 12pm? If you answer no to either of these then you need to assess BOTH your sleep time and sleep quality Stay tuned for some tips to optimise both!

08.01.2022 HOW TO ACTUALLY MAKE NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS If you say People that wait for New Years to make a change are idiots, you should just change whenever or say (in October/November) I’m waiting for New Years to get healthy You really don’t get it and you’ve almost certainly never made a successful life altering change to your behaviours that have lasted all challenges and obstacles thrown at you... The changing of years is a doorway and doorways are a tangible path to new opportunities so it’s a great way to change your behaviours and start yourself on a new path, but you have to do it the right way, and that’s what I’m going to explain today So how do we make lasting change and not just a wish and a prayer? 1) Have a vision for what you truly want This has to be something that excites you so that you literally get a rush of adrenalin or it makes you smile or laugh when you think about it losing 5kgs is probably not it, I mean it might be, but not for most people What about being fit enough to play footy with my kids for the first time, or looking at myself in the mirror naked and LOVING what I see, rather than pushing yourself you want something that actually pulls you towards it by inspiring you, THAT is a vision 2) Strong reasons to keep you going These are crucial because there will be challenges, time, work, family, events, will all get in your way but if you have strong reasons, that will be deeply individual to you then all those things won’t matter, you WILL FIND A WAY 3) Review and feel it EVERYDAY Write down your vision, write down your reasons EVERY SINGLE DAY, you’ll be amazed how this changes your focus towards that vision and you will start to notice opportunities to move towards your vision that you never noticed or even dreamed of before New Years Resolutions usually fail because people come up with something they don’t care about, to make lasting change you need to raise your standards, to change your should to musts, and you’re only going to do that if you have something that truly and deeply drives you Remember, your life is a reflection of your standards, your body, your health, all a reflection of your standards, not your goals, you may or may not get your goals, you will get your standards Change I should go to the gym or I should eat well to I MUST go to the gym and I MUST eat well your body and your health will become a reflection of that It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it Blinks xo

08.01.2022 [XMAS SPECIAL] 50% OFF OUR 6 WEEK CHALLENGE We are completing our last challenge of the year, best of all we are giving it to you at a massive discount!!! Jump start your New Years resolutions with our 6 week challenge, start in November and receive 50% off the usual price... Do you want to: tone your legs and booty increase your body confidence be surrounded by supportive like minded community get in the best shape of your life How do we do it; Tough but fun sessions with a personal trainer 2 Phase nutrition plan to increase your energy and flatten your stomach Accountability from your very own personal trainer If you are ready to kick start your 2019 goals and love a discount then click the link below and register for the 6 week challenge today Comment ME below

07.01.2022 Menopause and weight gain Going through menopause or even pre-menopause and dealing with weight gain is an incredibly common issue but there is a solution! So, I want to clear something up first and foremost, hormones don’t cause weight gain in and of themselves, they do however effect your energy balance which then contributes to weight gain... Why does that distinction matter? Because how we influence those two things are completely separate issues, we have a huge array of options to increase energy output, or decrease energy input (right in my wheelhouse), not quite as many for menopause (right in your doctors wheelhouse) And that’s what we’ll focus on, energy (fatigue) and appetite changes caused by menopause and how we can attack it. So often in fitness I see an all or nothing approach (this goes for coaches/PTs as much as clients), in that you either do a thing or you do not, there’s no middle ground and that’s an issue when doing a thing seems way too hard especially when dealing with fatigue, mood swings, bloating, headaches the list goes on How often do you see exercise as the main treatment for fatigue and to control the symptoms of menopause and it is, definitely a great option but it doesn’t have to mean jumping off the couch and straight into an hour of high intensity training straight away Instead, how about we change the approach to a focus on something better, so let’s start with the easiest possible positive change thing you can make right now that will move you in the direction you want to go, maybe for you that’s a 10 minute walk a day for a week, then next week it’s 2 walks a day, then 3, then maybe you do some light exercise for 10 minutes a day on top of the walking We can do the same with food intake, instead of trying to adhere to a restrictive meal plan maybe just starting with eating till 80% full (my method is to eat so that I feel like I could exercise within 20-30 minutes of the meal without feeling sick) and once that is under control moving to tracking food using hand portions, step by step creating more awareness around food and getting better control of eating habits If you break that down, what we’re actually doing here is building small wins and creating daily practices that move towards a healthier lifestyle It's much easier to start, maintain, and to build and the best thing is that energy begets energy, by using more energy you will produce more energy What that also creates is a change in mindset that will shift the focus from looking for what is wrong to looking for ways to improve and this may be the biggest positive change of all So start small, start now and create a daily practice that will be easy to follow and go easy on yourself Blinks xo

07.01.2022 Peaches for the Beaches Hands up if you’ve seen a booty gain video on Instagram tried it out for 6 weeks and gotten absolutely no booty gains? There’s a good reason for that, 99/100 of the videos I watch have no basis in either science or real world results, 180 squat pulses are NOT an optimal method for growing your glutes, and then there was that study just recently released saying squats lead to greater gains in gluteal hypertrophy seriously flawed study, without gett...ing into it, if you’re comparing exercises you MUST measure load using %RM not overall volume, absolute face slapping moment that Anyway, I digress, so what is a good method of growing the booty? Well, there are optimal exercises of course, but just as important is mind-muscle connection, you want to make sure you are actually using your glutes to do these exercises, and not your groin, or lower back etc The body is smart, if your glutes are really weak it will find another way to do the movement using muscles with similar attachments, which might’ve been a great solution when getting away from a sabre tooth tiger but in terms of glute specific gains, not what we want You need to listen to your body, when doing an exercise I often ask a client where are you feeling this, there’s no right or wrong answer it just gives me a feel about what we need to adjust to feel it where I want them to feel it, in this case, our arse Some common areas you might feel glute exercises that are good indication you need to change stance or movement sequence is if you feel it in your lower back, groin, hammys or even quads, we might feel a little overflow into these areas (hopefully not the lower back or quads) but we want it to predominantly fatigue the glutes, otherwise you’ll never get the gains, this goes for during the exercise as well as DOMS after your workout Activation exercises are a great way to start, banded crab walks, single leg RDL’s are a fantastic addition to your warm-ups, not just on booty or leg day but every day, additional volume and activation = gainz! I’ve included videos of 4 of my favourite exercises for glute activation and growth on my instagram @Blinco_Built, in the following weeks I’ll break some of these down to give you some triggers to pull if you aren’t feeling it in the glutes Enjoy! Blinks xo

07.01.2022 WHAT TO DO WHEN YOUR DIET STOPS WORKING So you’ve gone on a health kick, downloaded MyFitnessPal and started tracking all your food and counting your calories, it gets to weigh in day and YOU’VE LOST NO WEIGHT?! How the hell does this happen? You may have heard this before, quite simply it comes down to calories in vs. calories out, so if you’ve not lost any weight it’s because your calories out (exercise, walking, normal activity) didn’t exceed the calories you ate... Now that part is simple, but figuring out why/how this is happening isn’t always so easy and that’s where I can help with the top 2 reasons and what you can do about them 1) PROBLEM: Down-regulation Your body doesn’t like change (even for its own good) and it’s smart so if you cut 500 calories a day from your diet your body is going to try and match that by slowing you down and decreasing your output to match without you even being aware of it! SOLUTION: Steps Really easy solution for this one, track your steps, if you have an iPhone it’s already been doing this in the Health app so you can actually see how many you used to do and how many you do now, if you have an Android, change phones. 2) PROBLEM: Accuracy Time and again research has shown that even when people input their food into food tracking apps they still under report how much they’ve actually eaten, often at least some of food intake is habit driven (not hunger) SOLUTION: Meal Prep Meal prep is a sure fire way to get on track with your nutrition anyway, but especially when you fall into the trap of habitual eating, you know, getting bored at work around 3, ducking off to the kitchen to get a coffee and grabbing a couple of choccies to go with it If you meal prep, what you’ve prepped is the only thing that goes in the mouth, easy! Hopefully that helps overcome hurdles, and remember, weight loss isn’t linear, there will be weeks when you don’t lose anything and other weeks when you drop 2-3kgs, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and trust the process Blinks xo

07.01.2022 Tips To Get More Protein Ever sat back and thought, "Damn I wish I had big guns like Blinks"... Look, you're not alone, but I have the answer! It's an unusually inflated sense of confidence... but no, I kid, when talking about muscle building or fat loss, we start with protein!... One of the most common obstacles for people when starting a training and nutrition regime is getting enough protein in, and it can be hard, going from prioritising carbohydrates, most likely unconsciously, to prioritising protein is a big jump So, I thought I’d go through some easy ways to get more protein in without feeling like you’re stuffing yourself silly! 1. Eat Your Protein First Usually my advice is to eat your vegetables first, however if veggies are covered, then use the same theory protein, get that in first and then your veggies, then carbs 2. Liquid Protein Protein shakes have come a long way from the bad old days, they aren’t necessarily high in sugar or taste like a$$! If, like myself, dairy is a tummy issue there are also some great vegan options out there which also nowadays taste great and don’t cost an arm and a leg (send me a message if you want a brand or two to try I don’t want to seem like I’m selling something) Not only are the convenient but you can have a quick shake after a meal without feeling like you’re overeating as it is a liquid so will go down a lot easier than 100-150g steak 3. Supplementary Proteins As we aren’t set in our fitness dogma we can steal a trick from vegans and use things like beans in order to kill two birds with one stone (not that I’m saying vegans would kill birds of course ;) Beans, tofu, nuts, whilst not complete sources and not quite as dense in protein as meat can be a sneaky way to get macro and micronutrients in at once Using these three methods will ensure protein intake is sufficient to grow and maintain muscle mass and when it comes to long term results, that is the name of the gain (see what I did there?) Give it a try Blinks xo

05.01.2022 Who Wants Their First Pull-Up I’m yet to have someone come into the gym and not want to be strong enough to do a pull-up. It’s the ultimate expression of body strength, and probably the hardest to achieve, but it is achievable with persistence and some smart programming So, where do we start? Probably no surprise that we have to start with a whole body strength program that applies progressive overload, strength training 101. Whole body strength is important for things l...ike push ups or pull ups as these moves happen over a number of joints, the elbow and shoulder primarily, but also at the hip in terms of being able to stabilise the mid section while you pull with the upper body (as well as the lat originating at the hip) Lets assume that we are following a good whole body strength routine, what can we add to optimise our pull-up progression? Seems obvious, but we need to practice the move, some form of pull ups in the routine, and there are many roads to Rome, so I’ll go through a few and the benefits and deficiencies of each Banded Pull-ups Probably my least favourite method. They provide greatest assistance when stretched at the bottom of the movement when you don’t need it as much and least assistance at the top of the movement when you do really need it The positive for them is that you can control the assistance and they can be a great starting point to moving your body in the pull up motion Leg Assisted Pull-ups Something I have been introducing a lot recently is leg assisted pull-ups where the control of assistance is moderated by how much leg is used to assist Major benefit is that you can engage the lats and practice the movement on the pull but also bias the eccentric (downward) portion where we are typically stronger leading to greater gains in strength The only real downside is that people can cheat, so making sure it remains an upper body movement and not just a squat is crucial Negative Pull-ups Practicing only the eccentric portion of the movement is great to build strength in the muscles, and should be used at some stage in any program looking to build pull-up strength, although as they don’t practice the complete movement I wouldn’t use them as the only method Also, leg assisted pull-ups can be modified to include a negative bias as a change up I have also seen the use of kipping pull-ups to build strict strength to great effect, although it’s not a method I use as I believe kipping requires greater shoulder stability than strict (even though momentum makes them slightly easier), meaning they should come after strict, rather than before Hopefully this helps, I’ll chuck up a post on my Instagram @Blinco_Built with a typical pull-up training plan I would use Blinks xo

04.01.2022 FESTIVE SEASON SURVIVAL GUIDE: Episode 3: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU FALL OFF THE SLEIGH So, you ate and drank 3 days worth of calories in one sitting and now you feel horrible and your diet is ruined, you might as well stop trying, stop training, and give up. Fin.... How many of us have done that? That would be like going into an exam hitting a question you don’t quite know the answer to, throwing your hands up in the air and walking out without finishing, all because you don’t the answer to 1 question. How many of us have done that? We can see how ridiculous that is, you wouldn’t do it in an exam, so why would we do it with something that’s MUCH more important than an exam, all the exams in the world don’t matter if our health is terrible So what can we do when we fall off the wagon? Because like death and taxes, if I’m sure of one thing, it’s that you WILL fall off the wagon at some stage! Here’s a 4 step process that can not only stop you from feeling like a failure but also get you back on that wagon quick smart! 1) Remind yourself that this is something you can learn from and is actually a good thing because next time you encounter those circumstances you can be better prepared 2) Take action right now to get you back on track, what’s something positive that you can do right now that will make you feel like you’re back on track? Go for a morning walk, make yourself a green smoothie, a 10 minute sweat session, whatever, just a small step back on the right track that won’t take a lot of effort but will make you feel a sense of accomplishment 3) Identify the cause and how you can prepare, plan or correct that cause, either take it out of your environment or mitigate so that next time you’re better prepared (i.e. a Christmas party you arrived at STARVING chuck a protein shake in the top drawer to take the hunger off before going) 4) If you need help, get it! If this is a recurring theme and you’re at your wits end, get some help, even if it’s just a friend or group of friends that can keep you accountable to your goals, or a trainer, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s someone else who notices when you don’t show up and will actually text or call and ask why This time of the year is tough! There are a million things that can ruin your health and fitness goals, but none of those have to be permanent, if you don’t feel equipped or confident to keep yourself on track, find someone to help, accountability this time of the year is more important than ever! Blinks xo

04.01.2022 Lets Talk About Stress Part 3 Stress Management The final part to the Stress series is here, Stress Management Strategies! There are 100s of different strategies and it is incredibly important to find ones that work for you AND that fit into your routine, for example I wake up at 4 so I meditate for 10 minutes, do my morning gratitude and work in some breath holds, I make time for this because I want to arrive at the gym alert, awake and ready to roll and not like I’v...e just gotten out of bed But it doesn’t always happen and that’s okay, even as I write this I remember that I didn’t meditate this morning and I’ve become so attuned to my mood and efficiency and I can feel that I’m not as creative, not as productive as I usually am This is rare though, I miss meditation maybe 1 day every month, max, because it works so well for me that I feel like it’s something I MUST DO! You have to find the 2-3 things that you can do daily that give you the most bang for your buck, here is a list of ones that I think may provide that Meditation if you have anxiety YOU HAVE TO MEDITATE, or suffer, it’s up to you, really that simple, just 10 minutes a day can make a huge difference, download Headspace and get practising Train do something that makes you sweat everyday, without fail, it is a stressor of a kind, but the benefits to a bit of regular exercise far outweigh any negatives Gratitude along with the first two, this has changed my life, writing down 3 things I am grateful for every morning and every night MAKES me put things into perspective, I do 1 person, 1 thing I can see or touch and 1 situation (career, health, finance) I am grateful for as a general guideline Productivity we know work is a huge source of stress and as a result stress causes you to do less work making you more stressed and.. terrible cycle, so find a way to get more productive so that rather than grinding through the day, you work in short blocks of highly productive time before taking a short toilet/coffee break, I find 90 minute blocks perfect for this and most people can do 3 of these a day, and you’ll find you get through much more in those 3 blocks than you would grinding for 10 hours, and the best part? You have more energy at the end of the day Giving giving time, effort, knowledge, money to someone else in need is such an underrated way of changing your perspective and actually forcing yourself to see that you don’t have it as bad as you think you do, and the type of attitude you develop by looking for ways to help others is priceless These are just some ideas you can play with, knowing that as stress is relative so to is your solution to de-stressing, what works for you might and probably won’t work for others, but most importantly find something you will stick to, every single day Blinks xo

03.01.2022 EASIEST WAY TO INCREASE IMMUNE FUNCTION A lot of focus is currently being put into stockpiling of items that we don’t need to stockpile and that won’t help prevent or cure illness, but what can we do to actually increase our immune function and immunity to disease, particularly viral infections Unsurprisingly, the greatest defence, is exercise, we have known for quite some time that exercise decreases the risk of communicable, such as bacterial and viral infection as well a...s non-communicable diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, [1] to the point that now we are taking chemotherapy patients straight from chemotherapy to the gym in order to increase survival rates, such is the benefit of training We know stress is a major factor in immune function so it’s no surprise that another great way of boosting immune function is through meditation [2]. Particularly, when used in conjunction with exercise can dramatically decrease inflammation and increase immune function, and it doesn’t require a large amount of time to do so, 15-20 minutes a day can have significant effect on your immune system And we can’t go passed mum’s advice, wash your hands and eat your veggies, there has been a massive spotlight put on hygiene so I won’t rehash that here. Veggies however, if everyone increased intake of veggies to 6-8 fists a day immune function would go through the roof. Micronutrient deficiency is a real issue, even in developed nations, particularly with vitamins and minerals related to immune function, such as zinc (legumes, nuts, eggs), folic acid (leafy greens, citrus fruits, beans), vitamin A (yellow fruits and vegetables, broccoli, spinach), and it is also worth noting that an increase in fibre increases your ability to absorb the nutrients that you do eat! Lastly, vitamins may help, high quality vitamins, but they’re the icing on the cake and shouldn’t be the basis of health, rather the last stop There is a good reason why you feel better when you exercise, when you eat high quality food, when you feel less stressed, listen to your body and do what you know works And if you're looking for somewhere to train away from the crowds, send me a message or comment ME below Blinks xo 1. Campbell, J. P., Turner, J. E. Debunking the Myth of Exercise-Induced Immune Suppression: Redefining the Impact of Exercise on Immunological Health Across the Lifespan. 2018; 9: 648 2. Barrett B., Hayney M.S., Muller D., Rakel D., Ward A., Obasi C.N. Meditation or exercise for preventing acute respiratory infection: a randomized controlled trial. Ann Fam Med. 2012;10:337346