With Christmas upon us and the New Year not far away, it's time for some reflection on the year that was. I want to share some of my lessons learnt, some of my hopes for 2018 and some of my top resources in the world of health and fitness.
Let's start with some of my accomplishments over the past 12 months: -
- In June I completed my first ever obstacle race 'True Grit'. This was a 14km course with plenty of running, jumping, crawling and traversing through the NSW countryside in the middle of winter (see picture above). However, it turns out the greatest obstacle was trying to get out of the car park at the end!
- In July I took part in the 'Stadium Stomp'. This involved climbing up (and down) 6,300 steps around Sydney's iconic Cricket ground (the SCG) and the Allianz Stadium. The course finished with a run around the perimeter of the SCG oval. Far less muddy than True Grit but equally as challenging
- In September I took part in the Bondi Barefoot 10km soft sand race. This was the second time of completing this race, having done it 3 years previously. This year I managed to place 6th. This event surpasses anything I have done previously in terms of difficulty. Running on soft sand is absolutely gruelling, so doing 10km on what turned out to be quite a hot morning was horrible! Soft sand running is extremely demanding on your calves and quads to a much greater extent than running on firmer terrain is.
This year I have: -
- Taken approximately 1,900 group classes or training sessions with clients
- Trained more clients remotely than ever before - see here for details
- Spent 72 hours mentoring one to one with Brad Soper (find Brad here)
- Help clients lose over 100kg combined over the past 12 months
- Written 50 blog posts and this weekly newsletter to clients every week of the year (including this one!!).
Enough about me! Let me share some of YOUR achievements: -
- Mike Steele completed the Noosa triathlon in November. He clocked a very impressive 2 hours 48 minutes whilst managing to raise $10,500 for charity in the process. Find out more about Mike's efforts here.
- Peter & Rebecca McKenzie completed the Spartan Trifecta by completing one race at each distance: the Sprint (5km), the Super (10km) and the Beast (half-marathon). Read more from Peter here.
- Russell Deadman managed to complete the True Grit obstacle race in June (pushing me all the way to the finish line) as well as dropping over 5% body fat throughout the year.
- Eric Finnell can claim the title of 'Transformation of the Year' with his incredible effort in dropping from 16.6% on 15th May to 8% on 31st August. See Eric's Transformation here.
- Adib Naghi also saw a fantastic transformation, dropping 10kgs in 7 weeks with a goal of another 15kg before March. Here more about Adib's transformation here.
- Daniel Blakemore has transformed himself into the best shape of his life for his Wedding in December. Read Dan's story here.
- Kieran Roche has lost over 12kgs since August whilst regularly Squatting and Deadlifting in excess of 200kg. Read more from Kieran here.
Mud, sweat and tears upon completing 'True Grit' back in June
Mike Steele in action during the Noosa triathlon
Dan Blakemore illustrating just what can be achieved when it comes to body transformations.
Adib holding the 10kg he lost in 7 weeks. We are currently at 12kgs.... The man is on a mission!
Peter & Rebecca trying to keep the sun (and flies) out in their race in Perth where they managed to complete all 3 courses (the Sprint, Super and Beast) in just 2 days! Insane!
And what more can be said about Eric? This guy is jacked!