War is not the answer..

(WARNING: Not health stuff) 

I wrote this over a year ago. Today I heard about this on the radio and have been seeing so many hate filled posts about the people killed in London so I decided I would finally publish it. I know some people won’t agree but that’s ok. I won’t get political often but we need to change this.

In our society there is so much hate towards people from middle eastern countries, I’m someone who likes to understand the “why”, so this is something I’ve thought about a lot. 

As far back as I can remember, we have been at war with “terror” and the “bad people” attacking our way of life and our beliefs. They have come to our country and killed our people, friends & families and tried to force their way of life onto us. We have been told by our media and family these people want to take over our country, take things from us and take away our culture. 

No wonder we are all so angry with these evil people and want to seek revenge.. Right? 

Now just for a minute, imagine you’re one of the hundreds of thousands of parentless children who has grown up in the Middle East and read back through the paragraph above in their shoes. 

I’m not saying their culture is right and some of their beliefs aren’t messed up but maybe we are part of the problem? Maybe if we hadn’t spent decades bombing the hell out of them, maybe there wouldn’t be the hate carried by these people? 

Imagine what they are told about us growing up? All they have seen and heard is of the west bombing the shit out of them. Google civilian deaths in Iraq & Syria at the hands of our efforts to give them “freedom”. It’s crazy. When we drop bombs on them, it’s branded an accident in the name of “freedom” and the battle to overcome the enemy, on our shores it’s terrorism.

I believe these people see that we are the evil ones, no different to our general view of them. Maybe trying to find peace is a better solution to continually bombing these countries and breeding more hate for generations to come? We have been at war for so long, it’s obviously not working. 

Peace. 💙✌🏻

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What moves YOU..

Last week I sat down with Mel “The Naked Naturopath” from MG herbs. Mel has been a huge help in my journey through burning myself out and trying to find wellness again. 

We spoke about some of my journey so far and about getting started in the confusing world of nutrition and being active. 

I’d love if you could have a listen if you’re wanting to start that journey, or you’re already on that path. Let me know your thoughts! 

Mel is a wealth of knowledge, subscribe to her page/podcast or for the locals; book in to see her through her page and let her guide you to taking control of your health. 🙏🏻

Link to podcast is below..

Link to MG HERBS PODCAST

Resolutions..

It’s the time of year that we all talk goals and resolutions. 

I don’t set big new radical resolutions. I usually check in and make sure i’m on track with my current goals and see how to evolve them for the year to come and reflect on the year that’s been. The positives and my achievements. Sure it’s ok to recognise the bad but don’t let them be the focus. 

I see alot of people treat goals as set and forget things at NYE and hope the world delivers them then, often complaining at the end of the year that the year didn’t deliver what they hoped. 

People that succeed at goals constantly reflect, reset and change along the way. Think of it like football/basketball or whatever sport you like. Each day, week or month is a little game. You can go in with a plan, but you don’t know the plan of the other team, the weather, etc. A good coach doesn’t make one game plan at the start of the year and just hope it works all season. They don’t even talk about how the whole year will go, game by game, collect the little wins and come out on top at the grand final. The plan constantly evolves and changes, but still the same goal.

Make small goals, after each month, check in, see how you’re going. Is the plan working? If not, why not? Did you try to take on too much? If it is working, celebrate your success, this can be in the form of anything, just something that puts a smile on your face.

When you see someone succeed, it’s 1000 small goals finally paying off, not 1 goal. Remember that and maybe check back in with your new year’s goals, maybe just make a January goal to start with? 

I’d love to hear from you in comments on what you want to achieve this year, and what are the little steps you’re going to take so 2017 is your most successful year yet. 

Another year older..

With another birthday around the corner, I’ve had the same conversation so many times. It feels like the same conversation I’ve had every birthday since I turned 18. “How do you feel about turning 21? 25? 30? 31?”

21 vs 31

 

My answer has always been the same. Except for 25 but I’ll get to that later. My answer has only gotten more definitive as I’ve gotten older. 

“Great, I’m excited for another year of life and seeing where it takes me.”

I understand that some people’s lives don’t improve with age, but is that the calendars fault or yours? Take ownership of your life and it’s direction, that’s what I decided to do at 25. 

Turning 25 was the worst birthday I’ve had, for years I had put the expectation on myself of where I would be at 25. I would have a good job and my first house. The reality was I was working in a snowboard shop and struggling to make ends meet and my mum was buying me food so I’d eat. Dad was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. It was the second low point of my life and the second time unhealthy thoughts about what I could do to make it all go away had crept into my brain. 

A blessing in disguise came along, an opportunity to live in Japan for a snow season. This was my escape & my reset button. Arriving in Japan, I realised I could be a new person, nobody knew my past or the mistakes I’d made, I also realised I could do this back home. I realised for the first time I was the one in control of my path and nobody else. 

Over the last 10 years, I can’t name a part of my life that hasn’t improved. As we age, we get more intelligent, more knowledge, and more experience. I’m healthier, fitter and stronger. I’ve got a great career ahead of me. Most importantly, I’ve actually found a purpose and passion in life. What’s not to like?

If you’re so scared of another year of your life. You’re living the wrong life. Take control and make your next year your best year. 

Greg. 

Where are cyclists meant to ride?

“Dear Angry Bearded Man,

My deepest apology for nearly running into your wife. I’m not sure what I’m meant to say sorry for as your words were largely profanities but I think I picked up you aren’t a fan of people on bikes but here is my apology anyway.

I am sorry she stepped off the kerb onto the cycle lane on the road about 50cm short of me riding. I am sorry I clearly misunderstood what a cycle lane is for.

From another f%&King D%$khead W$%nker cyclist.”

I just got in from a ride, during the ride I had my first proper altercation on a bike, but it’s left me rather confused and wondering something.

Where do people want cyclists to ride? After the above incident.. It’s apparently not the bike lanes.

The options are:

1. Footpath – Illegal in my state for people over 12 years old. Yes, over 12 years old it is illegal to ride on a footpath.
2. Road – The legal option, I stop at stop signs, I stop at crossings and redlights. I try to take up as little room as possible while I keep myself safe. This is the option usually less favored by your average road user.
3. Bike lanes – Every internet comments section on this topic is full of people like my angry bearded friend saying “pay registration or get off our roads and onto cycle ways”. Apparently this isn’t the right place either?

Today after the gym I went for a ride, I was riding along in the bike lane. As I was about to pass a couple crossing the road, my angry bearded friend crossed in front of me, I slowed down, his wife stopped on the kerb so I sped up again, then as I was right in front of her, she stepped straight out. I narrowly missed her. In between broken English, I got told I should be looking out and that I need to use my brakes and that people like me cause accidents.

I don’t understand the intolerance for cyclists. I drive a car too. People don’t want to be delayed by cyclists, but imagine if they all drove their cars, then you’d be stuck in worse traffic? What would you rather?

If you look around the world at some of the more progressive societies, bikes are starting to overtake cars as the primary transport. Unfortunately, I think we are a long way from this as most people don’t even understand the basics of where bikes can/can’t go.

There are some cyclists who cause trouble on the roads, there are some motorists that cause trouble on the roads and after my ride today, there are pedestrians who cause trouble. I think everyone needs to chill out, be a little more tolerant of people around them and learn the road rules before more people get hurt or killed.

On that note, there are new cycling laws in NSW starting 1^st March, make sure you understand them if you’re riding a bike or driving a car. Link is here to an FAQ about them. (http://roadsafety.transport.nsw.gov.au/campaigns/go-together/faqs.html)

Thanks.
From a law abiding rego paying car driving part time cyclist.

Flight or Fright..

This has been a hard thing for me to accept, over the last 18 months, I’ve felt run down and burnt out. My training has stalled, my sleep quality is terrible, my body is carrying injuries and despite living the healthiest I ever have, I feel shit. I have been trying to dig deeper into what’s going on and this week I finally got an answer. Adrenal Fatigue. I had a four point saliva cortisol test and came back that cortisol/DHEA is low at all points from morning to night.

To simplify how this happens, we are built to either repair/reproduce or run away from lions. Flight or fright. And over the last few years, with dad fighting cancer and his eventual passing away, stressful house sale, coaching people while working a full time job, training too much, working long hours, not sleeping enough, I have run from too many lions and my body has had enough.

  
This has been hard to accept because I tell so many people how to be healthy and what they need to do to take care of themselves. At the same time, I’ve been fighting an uphill battle against myself. The last 6 months, I have made so many life changes with yoga, better sleep health and good nutrition. It wasn’t enough to pull me out of it. As a result of this I need to make more changes, part of this is I will be stepping back from CrossFit for now. I’ll be spending my time swimming and doing yoga. Putting my focus into recovery and health so i can enjoy the life I have and get back to the things I love. My time at CrossFit Horizons so far has been great, I felt so welcome from the day I walked in and I can’t wait to get back there.

The other hard part of this was feeling accountable to my Mass Nutrition Kotara family. I didn’t want to let them down, after a chat this week, I have their full support and knowing they are standing by me means so much.

Fitness isn’t just the work you do in the gym, it’s your lifestyle and the things you do outside a gym the other 23 hours of the day.

I’m in the best possible hands to help me rebuild from this and have amazing support from the people around me. I will be back.

If you have any of the below symptoms, speak with a naturopath or let me know and i can point you towards some good reading resources.

@wolf_fit

@wolf_fit

What’s your problem?

 We spend hundreds of billions of dollars on medical research, we have more specialists, more technology, more communication and more knowledge, yet we are the first generation in human history that will not live longer than the last. If that isn’t an alarming wake-up call, then I don’t know what is. Everyone you speak to is taking medication for this or that. When you ask what they are taking them for, listen to the response, then ask yourself, is that a symptom or problem? I bet 99% of the time, it’s merely a symptom.

 

So we are out there medicating the symptoms and not worrying about the problem. Imagine a leaking roof, instead of fixing the leak, stupidly we place a bucket in the ceiling to catch the water, have you treated the problem or just the symptom? Eventually, the bucket will get that heavy it will fall through the ceiling. Think about your body like this. We keep treating symptoms but the problem is still there, dripping away and slowly filling the bucket until it can’t take the load anymore.

I recently asked a family member what medication she was taking; her response to start with was “I’m not taking anything, except for a tablet a day for reflux”. She went on to tell me about some family history of stomach cancer and she had been told to just take this tablet once per day and she wouldn’t have an issue.  Medication for GERD fixes the acid reflux symptom, the problem is digestive problems and gut health. One of the problems that can arise from GERD is stomach cancer if left untreated. Think about that problem vs. symptom process. This can usually be treated with some simple nutritional changes and if I can learn that on the internet, don’t doctors have Google too?

Let’s play a game.. Are these problems or symptoms.. 

Headache?  
Inflammation?
Child with ADD? 
Blood Pressure? 
Cholesterol? 
Anxiety?
Depression?
Insomnia?

The list goes on..

All these are symptoms and not the primary problem. Think back to your last three visits to your GP, you present and tell him your symptoms, and generally, within 5 minutes, you’re out the door with a script in your hand and off to the pharmacy. What if you got asked about your nutrition and given information on how to fix the primary problem. This would possibly take more than the 5 minutes I’ve ever spent in a GP’s office. If you go for an appointment with a naturopath or similar, it will take over an hour for them to get a picture of your diet and lifestyle, when was the last time a doctor spent an hour talking to you about your lifestyle and nutrition? The average doctor visit lasts 7 minutes.

Your body is sending you a message and it’s time to start paying attention to the leak in the roof before the bucket overflows. I’m not saying you shouldn’t go to your GP with health issues but hopefully this will bring awareness and you might ask yourself next time you’re unwell, what the actual problem is and maybe start a conversation with your GP.

The pharmaceutical companies are about creating wealth, not health. They do not want healthy people; it’s bad for business. The more aware you become of this, the better your wellness will get. 

Greg – @wolf_fit