Coach Kosta Mastro

Parenting can be a lot of hard work for no reward.

It can be getting to the end of day tired without that sense of achievement. Some days can be demotivating, zap our energy & destroy our confidence.

It can be endless task that continuously FEEL urgent, more urgent than our own health & fitness.

A health and fitness program can be the one area of your life you can control as a parent, it can be the one area of your life that gives you that sense of achievement each and every day. It can help you feel yourself again despite the chaos the little ones are causing at home.

🏋️‍♂️Putting more weight on the bar and increasing your strength.

🥦Sticking your your meal plan you set out.

🏃‍♀️Running further than you did last week.

💪Getting to the gym 5 days in a row.

These are all examples of goals you can set yourself at the start of each week to feel that sense of achievement each and every day.

I love to put my weekly goal(s) on a white board at the start of each week and tick them off each day. It’s a great feeling at the end of each day knowing you made a little commitment to yourself and stuck to your words.

If you’re desperate to feel that sense of achievement again, give this a go & let me know how you go!

Drop a “💪” below to apply for ONLINE COACHING. I have 5 just spots available!

Today I didn’t hit my goal.

Today I learnt that failing to hit a goal doesn’t feel so bad. I attempted to achieve something I had doubts over before the race and made piece with the fact I may not hit it. The only thing I could control was my effort & that’s what I did, I went out and held on for as long as I could until my body said that’s enough..

As always, the main thing today’s run gave me was purpose for training over the past 6 months and for that reason it was a great success. I’ll be going back to a Hybrid style of training with a mixture of strength and conditioning over the next couple months because that’s where I feel best both mentally and physically.

If you’re afraid to fail, you’ll never take a step forward 💪

A common question I get is "What do you eat" & it's probably the question I like answering the least because what I eat likely wont work for anyone else.

Why?

There are many variables from person to person that can impact how much food we should consume to maintain a health weight, including:

Male or Female?

Height?

Weight?

How much muscle mass?

Activity level? Physical Job/
Sedentary job?

Training load - Marathon runner? Strength athlete? Hybrid athlete? Walk 3 x per week?

Sleep quality & quantity?

Stress management?

Understanding what works for you will take some trial and error.
Log your food.
Log your body weight.
Log your energy levels.
Make adjustments to food quantity/quality to achieve results.

Tracking calories is not sustainable for everyone & it's not something I do currently but having done it in the past, I believe it's the best thing you can do from an education stand point to understand how much food you need to achieve your goal. If you commit to it for 1-2 months of tracking food you will learn a lot about food portions & what works for YOU.

Point of the story, when it comes to nutrition, it is very hard to compare & set up your plan based off what someone else is doing. If you do this, you're setting yourself up for failure. If you put in the time to understand food portions, calorie control & what works for you, you will set yourself up for long term success.

Don’t forget to switch off & have fun, it can go a long way towards helping your recovery & increasing motivation to do the harder things during the week 💪😁

30 ain’t so bad ❤️

One of the simplest things you can do to recover, reduce hunger & improve energy levels.

Start small & aim to increase your water intake enough so your urine colour is consistently pale/clear. This is often an indication that you are well hydrated.

Here’s one to book in this weekend & set next week up for success.

Preparation doesn’t have to be about perfecting every single meal, it can be about improving each meal & improving energy levels.

I find having vegetables ready to add to each meal helps massively with my energy levels each week.

Here’s 2 key reasons why running with headphones could be holding you back from improving & enjoying running.

1: Distraction for learning the skill.

We wouldn’t blast the music when first learning to drive so why do we do it when learning to run? I’d argue that the skill of running correctly is harder to learn than driving. If you’re using music to distract yourself from running, you are running the risk of injury & limiting your ability to improve your technique & become a better runner. Improving technique and becoming efficient at running will go a long way towards enjoying it.

2: It’s a missed opportunity to switch off & disconnect.

Outdoor exercise is a rare opportunity to switch of from electronics and disconnect. It’s the one time in a day you don’t have the chance to check your phone & can take in your surroundings. Sounds a bit crazy, I know... But once you learn to appreciate the sounds of nature on a run, it truly becomes an escape & a break from the chaos.

Not wearing headphones does not have to be forever or every single session but I do recommend it when first learning to run at a bare minimum.

Feeling off, feeling frustrated, feeling fatigued?

This simple daily add can make a huge difference to your energy levels, bonus points for not taking your phone 😁☀️

We aren’t made to sit indoors in front of a screen all day.