2019 Kokoda Challenge.
As someone who always needs a goal to work towards with fitness, I naively agreed to take on the 2019 Kokoda Challenge. In typical Amy fashion I agreed without asking for the finer details, only to later discover that it was a team challenge involving hiking 96km though the Gold Coast Hinterland with many hills along the way, including inclines of up to 550m. My three teammates had all successfully completed this challenge for the two years prior, so this time they had set themselves the added challenge of completing it in 24hours. I definitely should have asked for the...
Returning to exercise after a serious injury
Since beginning training with Arcadium HQ, I had discovered a passion for deadlifts and bench press. Both are compound exercises which I had previously shied away from due to a lack of knowledge and a lack of confidence. With both of these exercises, I found progress to be initially slow, yet this is what kept me interested as I was determined to feel the improvements for myself, rather than just rely on the feedback from my trainer. Slowly but surely, my form improved and consequently my weights started to increase, albeit still at a gradual pace, but one which I was happy with as long as my form...
10 tips for sticking to your fitness goals this year!
1. Start It's common to hear the phrase "I'll start Monday", but the best tip I can give you is to start NOW. It is never going to be a perfect run at achieving better health and fitness so stop putting it off. The sooner you start the sooner the benefits will present themselves. 2. Make it a priority We all have other priorities in our lives whether that be, family, work or social events sometimes at the detriment of our own health and well-being. Make exercise a staple in your week and watch the benefits of better health and energy levels trickle...
Arcadium HQ calls for greater awareness within the industry around training pregnant women
A recent article in the Sunday Mail (9 Dec, 2018) has helped to shine the light on the need for greater awareness for personal trainers when it comes to keeping their knowledge and skill-set up to date when training pregnant women. Arcadium HQ founder and pre and post-natal coach, Marley McDonogh, has raised concerns around the amount of accountability for trainers in the industry to ensure they have enough education or experience in training pregnant women to keep both mum and bub healthy. As a leading expert, Marley spoke to the Sunday Mail journalist about how the mother should always ask questions of her trainer to find out what courses they have done and whether...
Training like an athlete is more important than you think
Athletes come in many forms with different backgrounds and goals – so simply saying “Train like an athlete” cannot cover it all. Marley McDonogh from ArcadiumHQ believes it’s about the need to develop the same discipline and consistency that an athlete would, in order to achieve your own elusive fitness goals. “Whether your goals are to perform at an elite competitive level, tighten up that physique before stepping up on stage, rehabilitate that injury, increase mobility and flexibility or improve your quality of life with health and fitness, adapting the mindset and habits of an athlete is going to greatly increase...
Autism and fitness breaking down barriers
Originally published in Network Magazine - Fitness Network Australia Spring 2018 http://www.fitnessnetwork.com.au/resources/magazines It is widely recognised that taking part in physical activity not only helps to keeps us fit and well, it can increase self-esteem, develop social skills and improve mental health and general well-being. However, research shows that people with autism are less likely than others to participate in sport or physical activity due to factors related to the condition, including heightened fear and anxiety in social situations, difficulty understanding body language and metaphor, and sensory challenges. In my former role as coordinator of the National Autistic Society’s (NAS) Active for Autism project...
“But I only train general population…”
This is a sentence commonly spoken within today’s health and fitness industry. Many newly qualified Personal Trainers may find themselves thrown into the rat race of a large commercial gym soon after completing their certificate. The reasons for seeking their services may differ from client to client, but the initial perspective of the trainer usually remains the same – ‘most of my clients are general population’. This isn’t to say that this is a negative outlook to have, however when you begin the process of labelling your clients as ‘general population’ then it is easy to make false assumptions about...
Motivation vs Discipline
“I’m not motivated”. I’ve lost motivation”. “What is my motivation”? In the health and fitness industry these phrases are used on a daily basis; normally when someone fails to commit to a health and exercise regime or starts one and then fails to continue. I’m sure we all know someone or have been that someone who signs up to a gym, goes regularly for a month and then completely stops going or attends too infrequently for it to even matter. There are many individuals out there right now paying for gym memberships that they haven’t utilised in months, even years. The...