personal training

18
Apr
2023

U-Kandu Inspiration: Daddy Cool

U-Kandu Inspiration: Daddy Cool

One of the things I am really excited about being able to do on this website, is to celebrate inspirational people. People who embody the philosophy of the U-Kandu Way, and deserve to be celebrated for being such fantastic examples of the human spirit and wellness.

Often, inspiration really does begin at home. My Dad, Sukhwant Singh Kandula, is a perfect model of the U-Kandu Way. In fact, he has inspired it.

Dad was born in 1949 (I’m sure he won’t mind my saying!). He ran his first 10k race in June, 2013. He now runs regularly on the Warwickshire and Midlands circuit, completing 10k, and half marathon events. He has been given honorary member status of a running group that operates in Worcestershire, and attends the Leamington Spa Parkrun, both as a runner and as a volunteer, on a weekly basis. He has just run his 164th race. Not bad for a guy who ran his first distance race at the age of 64.

The most inspiring thing about Dad’s approach is not the distance he runs, or the times he achieves (though I will say he’s shaved a good 5 minutes off his earliest race times!), but his mental approach to his running. He isn’t obsessed with his weight, or his race times, or pushing through his limits. He runs because it feels good for him, keeps him healthy, and most of all, because he ENJOYS it.

I firmly believe that if he were running simply for aesthetic gain, or to prove some kind of point, he wouldn’t still be doing it. Those goals are so short term, and fundamentally unsatisfying, that the time inevitably comes when you will look to something else to bolster your sense of self-esteem. Dad is a wonderful example of sustained progress, because his mental approach is one that is geared towards self-fulfillment and the improvement of his health. He walks regularly, runs regularly, eats well, and is fitter than many people half his age. Plus, he makes it look easy!

Whenever we get together for family events, we all share our aspirations. Often, health and fitness will come up (as they do in many families, I’m sure!). While we natter on about what we will do in the year, months or weeks to come, Dad sits quietly, a knowing smile on his face. He doesn’t need to talk about it. He just gets it done. He represents the health and fitness that many aspire to, and is leading by example.

There are no barriers to leading a healthy lifestyle. Only you and the approach that you choose to take. Dad’s approach is one geared towards health, and gentle, sustained improvement. 4 years and innumerable races later, he is proof that his approach works.

Treat yourself as an individual, take your time, and be kind to yourself. With enough patience and self love, you'll find the approach that works for you too.

father and daughter smiling after race finish

"Dad is a wonderful example of sustained progress, because his mental approach is one that is geared towards self-fulfilment and the improvement of his health. He walks regularly, runs regularly, eats well, and is fitter than many people half his age. Plus, he makes it look easy!"

Posted by Taj Kandula - Scott in Inspiration, 0 comments
18
Apr
2023

New Year, New… Blue?

It’s the dawn of a new year. The internet is flooded with articles about how to make this year your best yet - how to achieve all of those goals that you’ve had in the back of your mind for years, and how to finally break free of negative habits and feel complete in yourself.

Now, I don’t know how you feel at this time of year, but I know that for me, all of this pressure to suddenly self – actualize can paralyse me into doing absolutely nothing. Then, I feel awful about it.

I struggle in January. The days are gloomy, it’s cold, and all I want to do is curl up with a good book and drink hot chocolate. I’m a personal trainer, yes, but I’m also human. Personal trainers go through cycles of motivation too! And I know how challenging these cycles can be to handle.

I used to beat myself up terribly during winter, because I struggled to get myself going with ANYTHING, let alone kickstart an ambitious training regime, or the pursuit of a lifelong dream. As I grow older and hopefully wiser, I’ve realised that just because the world is telling me that it’s the right time to set goals and achieve them, it may not be the case. You are an individual, and what works for you will be unique to you and where you are in your life.

It’s important to accept where you are at all times. Sometimes you are ready to take on the world, to set goals, and to achieve them. Sometimes, you need to rest and take a break. Taking a break doesn't have to mean complete inaction, though. There are actions that you can take if you are finding that your energy is at a low ebb, in preparation for when you are ready to take things further. Here are a few gentle ideas for gradually preparing yourself for more energised times.

Scribble out what you want to achieve

This is a simple way of kicking off a goal setting process, but without putting any pressure on it. You can sit down with a pen and paper, get comfortable, put on some relaxing music, and simply scribble out what it is that you want to do in the future. There’s no right or wrong way of doing this – you just let yourself be truthful, and scribble out absolutely everything that comes to mind. No one will ever see this, it’s a process purely for you, so let yourself be completely honest about what you want. It can be a really cleansing experience, allowing yourself to really consider what you want to be, or do. Enjoy the process and remember, there’s no pressure on it!

Scribble out what you feel frustrated with

This is the opposite to the above in some ways. The method is the same, sit down with a pen and paper, make sure you’re alone and have some headspace, and scribble out whatever comes to mind, but this time focus on what is really frustrating you. This could be things that you feel get in the way of you achieving what you want (this could be lack of time, too many other priorities, a specific person or responsibility), or frustrations that you may have with yourself (do you feel that you just can’t get going, that you have too far to go, that you don’t know what to do?). Just anything at all that makes you feel frustrated, because once it’s on the page, it’s out of you, and you’ll feel better for it.

Stretch, stretch, stretch!

So many people neglect stretching, because it can feel like “light” work that isn’t going to have any major effect. The fact is, stretching is ESSENTIAL if you want to have a well trained, functional body. Flexibility allows you to perform far more effectively when you are ready to do more intensive training, so use the downtime to work on gentle stretching work to get those limbs ready for a more high energy period of training. I personally advocate a mindful approach to training, where you focus in on your body and breath with no distractions, but, if it gets you moving, do some stretching in front of the TV! You will feel brilliant for it, and you won’t get bored!

Learn to Rest

This is a tough one, sometimes. It’s a skill to be able to rest in a way that is recuperative. I still struggle with this, because even when I’m on “holiday”, I’m often still beating myself up about what I should be doing, and making plans for how to do better once my holiday has finished. Perhaps you spend evenings sitting watching Netflix, enjoying chocolate biscuits and feeling guilty – or you spend time feeling anxious about not getting enough done, or an incomplete to-do list that you are pressuring yourself to complete. None of those things are resting. Your mind and body are in a state of turmoil and you will gradually wear yourself down and then feel terrible that you don’t have a great deal of energy to do the things that you want to do so much!

Spend some time learning to really rest. It’s easier said than done, I know, but learn to be kind to yourself, and develop this essential skill. If you’re relaxing with a TV programme, really go  with it. If you’re logged off work and your brain needs to decompress, let it happen! If you combine rest with the brainstorming above, you’ll be doing plenty to help yourself to prepare for a more active process of setting and achieving your fitness goals when you’re ready.

Trust yourself

Finally, I can testify, from personal experience, that slow and steady is the way to achieve lifelong, sustainable change. I’ve been letting myself grow and develop new, healthy habits for years, and now, winter isn’t a time for my health and fitness to fall by the wayside. Exercise is a way of life, and I don’t need to kickstart anything in the cold, dark of winter. It’s part of the day to day, business as usual, because I do the hard work of making change and improving at a different time of the year – a time that works well for me and my personal rhythm. You will find your way – trust yourself!

So, there you go! That’s my alternative take on how to take advantage of the dawn of a new year. Take it easy on yourself. January may be peak time for your productivity, or it may not – just listen to your own body and work with it. There’s no forcing long term change, so believe in yourself and the process of preparing the ground for the time that you are ready to take the next steps to achieving all of your health and fitness goals 🙂

Scales, weight loss, new year goals

"It’s important to accept where you are at all times. Sometimes you are ready to take on the world, to set goals, and to achieve them. Sometimes, you need to rest and take a break. "

Posted by Taj Kandula - Scott in Philosophy, 0 comments
20
Feb
2023

How to find the right personal trainer

How to find the right personal trainer

It’s the new year, and you’re feeling motivated and ready to kickstart your healthy regime. You’ve already decided that you are going to find the perfect personal trainer to help, but Google has 10 pages of options, you’re completely overwhelmed by what’s available, and you can’t be sure that what you read on a website reflects what you’ll get in real life.

Finding the right personal trainer is a challenge. No question. Here are a few tips on how to approach the search.

Consider your high level requirements

When you hire a trainer, you’re paying good money to fulfil a need that you have. It’s all very well to say that you want to get fit, but to get the most out of the personal trainer experience, you need to know what your requirements are before even beginning to look at the trainers in your area.

Do you have a preference for the gender of your trainer? Do you want to train at home, at a gym, or outside? Are you looking for someone who has a no pain, no gain approach or someone with a gentler philosophy? How often will you be able to train? What are the high level outcomes you’re looking for? Perhaps you want to learn how to lead a healthier lifestyle day to day, perhaps you are preparing for a big life event like a wedding, or perhaps you are already in training and need a trainer to help you to advance to the next level. These are all examples of things that you should consider before beginning the process of looking for your trainer, because this will help you to focus your search.

Request a meeting

There are LOTS of trainers around. Each trainer is a person, and we are all different, so you are likely to connect with one trainer differently to another. Don’t be afraid to shop around and arrange initial meetings with the trainers that you think might be a good fit for you, just so that you can spend a bit of time with them and gauge how comfortable you are with them.

Finding the right personal trainer is all about gauging how you connect. It's difficult to predict who you will click with just by looking at a website. You’ll be spending lots of 1:1 time together, so that sense of feeling relaxed and comfortable in a face to face scenario is vital. When you meet the right trainer, you’ll know! 

It's personal!

Remember, you are hiring a “personal” trainer. You are paying good money for that personal element. It’s vital that you feel comfortable. You must feel that you can trust your trainer, that they are invested in you and your progress, and that you are able to speak to them openly about where you are and any challenges that you are facing. Finally, you aren’t looking for a trainer who will apply a pre-packaged one-size –fits-all programme to you (you can save yourself lots of money by finding a programme online if that’s what is on offer). You’re looking for a trainer who will create a programme for YOU, accommodating all of your requirements, quirks, and goals. Ultimately, that’s what you’re paying for.

Take your time

When you get the urge to kickstart a healthy regime, the tendency is to jump in, join a gym, hire a trainer and spend loads of money on new workout gear immediately. This is often quickly followed by guilt and regret when the money is going out of the account but the gym membership card is nowhere to be found, the clothes are gathering dust, and you’ve stopped seeing your trainer because you always found a reason to cancel. This is often due to impulsive decision making and a sense that getting things done and bought quickly will yield the best results.

When it comes to your health and fitness journey, you’re making a long term lifestyle change. Make the most of the energy that you have to drive forward, but there’s no need to make rash decisions. In the long run, they will hinder you.

Take your time to choose a trainer. You can gauge a lot from the way that a trainer interacts with you on the phone or via email. From that, you can decide on whether you want to set up an introductory meeting. From that meeting, you can make a decision on whether you feel that you will benefit from having that trainer in your life. Don’t put yourself under pressure to make a decision too quickly, and definitely don’t allow anyone else to make you feel obliged to decide before you’re ready.

Remember the purpose of having a personal trainer

Ultimately, you want a personal trainer because you feel that you need someone to keep you on track with your fitness aspirations. You want someone who will make sure that you get your workouts done every week, and the assurance that the work that you are doing will pay dividends. Most of all, you want to feel that your trainer cares about you and your progress, and is willing to put the effort into training you that you expect for the price that you are paying.

If at any point you are speaking to a trainer and you are unsure that they meet any of those basic points, stop and assess whether they are the right fit for you. Every trainer has their own approach, and every client has their own requirements, so the perfect trainer for you is out there. It might just take a bit of time to find them!

Hopefully these suggestions will help you on your search, but if you have any questions that you’d like to ask on the topic of how to find the right personal trainer, I’m happy to help! Just use the contact form HERE and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

To your success!

"Finding a personal trainer is all about how you connect. You’ll be spending lots of 1:1 time together, so that sense of feeling relaxed and comfortable is vital. When you meet the right trainer, you’ll know!"

Posted by Taj Kandula - Scott in Lifestyle, 0 comments
19
Feb
2019

Why Shouldn’t I Weigh Myself?

Why Shouldn't I Weigh Myself?

Quite simply, it’s not a proper measure of your fitness, wellness, or health. Weight loss is one of the most common aspirations that I come across, but I actively encourage my clients to avoid the scale. Here are three reasons why.

1. Lighter isn’t always healthier

It’s really simple. Dropping pounds on the scale is NOT a sign that you are getting fitter. The measure of your progress is how you feel, the quality of the choices that you’re making, and the power that you are giving yourself to become the person that you want to be by digging deep. It is not whether you sit at a certain level on the BMI scale.

2. There is no such thing as an “ideal” weight.

So many people want to reach a particular weight, or lose a certain amount, because somehow that will mean that they suddenly feel better about themselves. The simple fact is, you can lose lots of weight taking unhealthy measures, such as not eating, or drinking juice all day every day, but you will not feel good in yourself for it. Before you know it, you will put the weight back on, and you will feel terrible for letting yourself gain weight.

There is nothing to gain from obsessing over reaching an “ideal” weight. There is no such thing. Life just isn’t that simple. YOU aren’t that simple!

3. Weight doesn’t account for natural fluctuations

Your body is going through a raft of fluctuations on a regular basis. Women are continually going through hormonal changes that cause water retention, bloating, and general dips in particular neurotransmitters in some cases, and these can all lead to weight fluctuation on the scale. You can immediately set your confidence back by weighing yourself on a day where your hormones are changing, or you are retaining water from a meal. Equally, if you haven’t pooped…. It will make a difference!

There are plenty of ways to measure your progress that don’t involve the scales. Taking measurements is a good way to keep track of real changes in your body shape. As you get fitter and healthier, it’s very likely that you will drop clothes size, and having an item of clothing that you can try on every 6 weeks can also be a good way to enjoy tangible change.

The key thing is how you FEEL. Feeling that you are making the right choices for both your mind and body. Feeling that you are proud of who you are; someone who makes a decision to make positive change, and bravely sees that journey through. Feeling that you are the person that you want to be.

Free yourself from the scale! It isn't the measure of your worth!

To your success 🙂

 

Scales, weight loss, new year goals

"The key thing is how you FEEL. Feeling that you are making the right choices for both your mind and body. Feeling that you are proud of who you are; someone who makes a decision to make positive change, and bravely sees that journey through. Feeling that you are the person that you want to be. "

Posted by Taj Kandula - Scott in Philosophy, 0 comments
05
Feb
2019

I don’t feel like my relationship with my PT is working

I don't feel like my relationship with my PT is working

Are you feeling unsure about how things are going with your current personal trainer? If so, here are 5 common reasons why things may not be working, and some ideas for how to fix the situation so that you feel more positive.

Vague goal setting

When you are planning a life change, it’s vitally important that you understand what your goals are. This is an involved process that requires you envisioning what you want to achieve. The on-boarding process with a personal trainer should be setting these goals. If you are unsure of what you want to achieve, your trainer can help you to find your goals and set them.

If you and your trainer didn’t go through this process, and you are now feeling a bit lost and unsure of where things are heading, you can turn things around. Take some time to find your goals and really cement them in your mind. If you are unsure of how to do this, HERE is an article to help you on your way.

Once you have these goals set, you can communicate them to your trainer. They can then tailor your programme to reflect what you want to achieve.

Lack of momentum

Momentum is a huge part of making a life change. Getting started can feel difficult, but once you are in the swing of things, things feel automatic (provided the goal setting process has been done properly, and your trainer has written you an appropriate programme). If you let yourself get into a routine, set sessions with your trainer, and commit to showing up, things will begin to feel easier and you will make tangible progress. So much about getting fit is showing up.

So, if you tell your trainer that you will commit to 3 sessions a week, and regularly cancel, your progress will inevitably stall. Your trainer will have written a programme based on that commitment. If you regularly fail to show up, it will be difficult for your trainer to see the programme through. It will feel very stop/ start, and you will always feel as though you are starting over. You won’t see the progress you want, and you will feel rubbish about it.

Showing up for your sessions is so important. Obviously, life happens, and sometimes you have to reschedule sessions, (you absolutely mustn’t beat yourself up if you miss a workout for good reasons) but if it’s a regular thing, you just won’t progress. Most trainers will also charge you if you cancel with less than 24 hours notice too, so it can get expensive.

If you need some thoughts on how to stick to an exercise schedule, HERE is an article that may help.

Lack of variety or balance

Your body likes variety, and needs a range of challenges to keep it working and improving. Your mind also needs variety, so that you don’t feel stagnant. You shouldn’t be going to your training sessions and feeling as though every session is the same, or questioning whether your trainer has planned your session in advance. Your programme should include a range of elements, including cardio, strength, and flexibility.

Everyone is different, and everyone requires a different balance of elements. If, for example, you are very inflexible and your trainer feels that this is going to stop you from performing certain movements effectively or with good technique, they would be doing you a service by focusing on flexibility. That does not mean, however, that you should ONLY be doing flexibility work for weeks on end, unless you specifically ask for that, or your trainer has given you good reason for it.

Your trainer is responsible for keeping your workouts interesting, effective, and balanced, whatever the challenges involved. If you aren’t sure that your trainer is covering a range of training types with you, it is important to ask why.

Lack of communication

When you sign up with a personal trainer, you are entering into a partnership, and any successful partnership requires communication and continual feedback. It’s vital that you feel comfortable talking to your trainer, that you find your sessions are informative and educational, and that you don’t feel hesitant to bring up anything that is concerning you. If you don’t feel that the door is open for that kind of conversation, you won’t be able to get the maximum benefit of having a personal trainer.

Training sessions can be challenging – you are often vulnerable, and it is really important that you feel looked after and supported as you go through the process of change. If you don’t feel able to talk to your trainer openly, or feel at all uncomfortable, it may not be the right fit for you.

Philosophical Differences

Most of the time, with some open and honest communication, you and your trainer will be able to solve any existing issues and move forward in a positive way. Often, all it takes is an open chat and an willingness on both sides to make improvements to get things back on track.

Occasionally, however, the fit just isn’t right. It’s a very personal relationship involving lots of 1:1 time, and sometimes, it just doesn’t click. If you feel that is the case, don’t hesitate to be truthful with both yourself and your trainer, and give yourself the option to move on. There are many reasons why you may not be the right fit for each other, and it happens! There are lots of personal trainers, and only one of you, so finding the right one may require some experimentation. Basically, it's like dating 🙂

Finally, if you aren’t feeling sure about how things are going with your trainer, remember that YOU are the client. You have every right to bring it up, to make sure that you are getting the service that you want, and to feel confident that your time and money is being well spent.

So, there you have it! I hope this helps you to create the perfect relationship with your existing trainer, or to find the courage to move on if you don’t feel that it’s working. If you decide that it's time to move on, and need some advice on how to look for a new trainer, HERE are some tips to help you 🙂

 

confused robot

"Most of the time, with some open and honest communication, you and your trainer will be able to solve any existing issues and move forward in a positive way. Often, all it takes is an open chat and an willingness on both sides to make improvements to get things back on track. "

Posted by Taj Kandula - Scott in Exercise, 0 comments