John McNaughton Training

This October, I'm painting my nails and donating with Polished Man, raising funds and awareness to stop violence against women and children.

There are many causes deserving of support; this one is meaningful to me.
If it speaks to you, you can donate (link in comments), paint your nails, or simply bring this to attention for those around you.

My own commitment is to donate $5 per session I run in October.

DUMB goals. If this gets big, you heard it here first... (probably - I haven't looked either)

It's National Stroke Week. Stroke occurs when blocked/burst blood vessels damage the brain. Most of my current audience probably haven't thought about stroke much. I'd urge you to take a moment and do so.

1) Early behaviours hugely impact later outcomes. Your body can tolerate a lot - we drink, smoke, skip sleep, train like crazy, eat junk, all these things that are "bad" for us - and yet we feel fine and perform great. We can feel invincible at times when younger.

The problem is, things add up over time, and we're living longer than ever. Arteries gradually block with time, and while the difference between 0-50% blockage is minimal with your symptoms, the next 50% comes quickly and you'll definitely find out.

Like compound interest, the early stages seem almonst meaningless, but given enough time, big changes happen fast. Delay that timeframe with healthier choices, and maybe the debt doesn't get too big too soon.

2) On top of this, strokes are happening more often to young people. Combined with living longer, that's not a great stat.

Quiet socials doesn't mean quiet workload. I've just kicked off a Graduate Certificate in Diabetes Education and Management!

While EPs know plenty about diabetes and how it interacts with exercise, diabetes educators have a broader understanding of the conditions and are valuable in supporting people through the overall journey.

Sadly, diabetes is on the rise in most nations, with obesity, sedentary lifestyles, and poor diets among the reasons. Once you've got it, it doesn't really go away, and the impacts are significant.

Whatever health you have, build and protect it fiercely. You get one body; make the most of it, because your family, your work, and your personal time all depend on it.

Message me if you need a hand.

Big news: I'm now 100% on the sole trader train, working for myself!

I've dipped in and out for years, but now it's real. I'll be working as a free-range exercise physiologist / coach / trainer, mostly at Club Lime in and , with both members and non-members.

Thanks to the team at ACE Sports Clinic for the past few months; enduring thanks to the many people who have helped me get here (special nod to the Inspire team); and pre-emptive thanks to those I'll doubtless continue receiving help from. Sole trader certainly doesn't mean I have all the answers, the growth journey continues.

Fantastic opportunity to hear present on communication for high performance coaching! Nick is especially known for his work on movement cueing, so my clients can prepare for some shiny new (borrowed) analogies to get them moving better daily 🔥

Thanks for the roadshow!

Do you have an ongoing ni**le or recurring injury? This may be your answer.

Most people do stage 1.
Many people do stage 2/3 (they overlap).
By here, you're probably pain-free, feeling okay, and excited to return to the activity you've been missing.

Problem is, you're not ready.
That activity previously overloaded your tissues, causing injury, and now you've had time away from participation, so if anything you're less resilient.

Don't just rehab until you're out of pain. That's only half the job. Stopping there is rolling the dice.
Train until your body is more capable than it's ever been, so it can tolerate the stress that overcame it last time.

Happy St Pat's Day - here's a post that's got nothing to do with that!

It's easy to get excited about technology. It happens to coaches, clients, athletes, everyone. It's so shiny and full of promise... but that promise is often overhyped. Hard work over time still remains supreme.

I use tech where appropriate - in the pics you'll see electromuscular stimulation (EMS), blood flow restriction training (BFR), and a simple pulse oximeter, plus a lovely stock laptop photo 😀
For the right client at the right time, extra tools are highly valuable.

For most of you most of the time, though, stay focused - don't major in the minors! Train consistently over time, train hard, and recover well. This is the way.

(If you need help finding the way. DM me.)

Coaches often ask people to leave their comfort zone. I had to take my own medicine recently, when a friend offered a photo shoot for my business 😨
I don't enjoy being on EITHER side of cameras, but this was too valuable to say no. I'm excited to have my own media for future content.

This is a post of huge appreciation for those who made it happen voluntarily!
Photographers: these guys rock, check out their work, show them some love
Josquared_Photography my fantastic friend
Models: you're legends, and sorry for ruining the "cute silly" group photo, I clearly missed the memo

Today's topic is brought to you by my scales. Within the last 4 days, I've had readings between 9.2% body fat (definitely wrong btw) and 14%. That's over 50% difference, and represents gaining about 4kg of fat.

A client wanted to trial a movement test recently. We set it up as accurately as we could, and they did 22 seconds - stressful, because their target was 20. 5 days later, in the actual testing environment, they hit 19 seconds, a new PB.

Measurements are imperfect. Between machine inaccuracy, human error, normal body fluctuations, and changes in environment, you will see numbers going up and down. Ignore the small stuff.

How to make them useful?
- try to measure the same way each time
- take lots of measurements over time
- look at the big picture trends (direction) more than exact numbers