Hello again you awesome reader and welcome to the first instalment of EVERY STEP COUNTS for December 2019.

The end of the year is near.

Christmas is fast approaching.

Have you achieved what you wanted to achieve this year?

Could your year have been better or are you happy with how it stands currently?

The answers only come with self-reflection and I have discussed this previously, so we are not going to focus on this topic today. We are however going to discuss THERAPYCISE this week and also our last local fitness professional of the mini-series.

As you will recall, we have covered quite a few awesome people and businesses over the last couple of months with last weeks amazing Arc Gym being one of my favourites so far. This week’s focus you will find very interesting and potentially very useful depending on your goals for 2020.

Now, firstly Therapycise … what is it?

Therapycise is my unique service offering that I will be really pushing in 2020. After doing the job that I do for now over six years, I have seen things come and go, I have seen business come and go. I have witnessed new products and services come on the market and then six months later, they are nowhere to be seen.

This is life I suppose and with the health and fitness industry, the turnover is high.

There is one common trend that I have witnessed over the last few years that upsets me though. This trend doesn’t seem to be going anywhere, if anything the situation is getting worse. This trend is, of course, our mental health and the mental health of our future generations.

Now, if you have been reading this column for some time, you will know that I am passionate about helping people. I am committed to helping people and more specifically my awesome readers the opportunity to be the very best versions of themselves.

It really does start with YOU.

If you want it…then YOU really do have to go and get it. 

As my own business has evolved over the last six years and I have obtained various experiences and work-based qualifications, my business model has shifted towards the mental side rather than just the physical side.

I remember back in 2013 when I left the Royal Marines, I believed that when you sorted out the physical side of the equation, the mental side also then improved. This is still very much the case, but my thinking has now shifted slightly in where I place my focus.

I now truly believe that you can have a bigger impact when you sort out the mental side not first but actually at the same time as you are sorting the physical side … this is where THERAPYCISE has come from.

Now I don’t want to cover the whole concept of THERAPYCISE this week as I will be covering various aspects of it in future weeks, but I do want to give you five tips that will skyrocket your December and really will help you finish your year on a high:

Tip 1: Don’t take your foot off the gass

Don’t take your foot off the gas this month, keep pushing even with all the distractions. At the end of a race, you don’t start walking, you push and sprint as fast as possible. Keep that speed and intensity up, your 2020 will thank you.

Tip 2: Don’t start your 2020 goals in 2020

Don’t start your 2020 goals in 2020, yes you read that right. Start your 2020 preparation slightly early and get some thing’s in motion now. Warm the body up for what is coming. Prime your mind for what will be happening in 2020.

Tip 3: Design your 2020 goal now

Set it right now or at least pick one audacious goal that you will be achieving in 2020. For me, I will be attending the famous UPW with Tony Robbins in Birmingham with a top friend and client of mine. I literally cannot wait. What will be a big hairy audacious milestone for you in 2020? 

Tip 4: Do something different every day up until Christmas Day.

Pick something and pick it now. It could be anything, it really is up to you.  Be different and get different, its what life is all about. 

Tip 5: Buy a book to read before now and Christmas and get reading.

When we learn something new, our brain lights up like a Christmas tree. Pick a subject that you want to learn something new about and go grab a book from Waterstones or Amazon. I can not preach the benefits enough, you won’t regret Tip five.

Now onto this week’s fitness professional focus…. The brilliant Ian Lewis Davies from The Fitness Clinic.

I have known Ian for some time, and he works only two units down from me at Space Business Centre. He is a great guy, highly knowledgeable and couldn’t wait to have that chat with him so I could get him in EVERY STEP COUNTS.

So, who is Ian Lewis Davies then? I asked him directly just last week and he said: “I’m a movement specialist and qualified biomechanics coach, personal trainer and massage therapist. As well as several other sports disciplines such as boxing, Olympic lifting and cycling, I help people with injuries get back to moving pain free whether be an RSI or rehabilitation post op.”

I personally have passed some clients to him previously that needed some assistance with their movement patterns.

It’s one gripe I have with my industry, enough trainers and coaches don’t pass people on to other better-qualified coaches when a client needs that extra TLC. 

I then asked Ian, what he believes in and anything that he feels strongly about. Ian without hesitation said: “For me there is no such thing as a bad exercise, but you can do exercise badly. My aim is to educate and coach people on how to move and exercise safely and effectively for them… each person is different and what I’ve learned over the years is something that works for one person isn’t necessarily going to work for another so treating everybody as an individual is important too.”

I love this, it’s all about the individual, hence why I am keen believer in client centred therapy and client-centred coaching. 

If you are reading this and wondering who Ian works with, I can tell you this. Ian works with many people but recently started working with young footballers specifically the Get Active Academy based in Bracknell.

He is helping the young footballers manage their body to stay fit throughout the season which is cool.

He also runs a 50+ strength and conditioning program so these are the main 2 groups he focuses his business on but really anyone in pain that wants to move and get pain free he will consider. He really is the go-to guy in Wokingham for movement. 

I would like to finish this week with one final question I asked Ian.

I finished our interview with asking him something he believes in and would like people to know. He came back with, “If you can’t explain your subject simply… you don’t know it well enough. I got taught that from a mentor and it’s stuck with me.”

So, there you have it. Another great read for you focusing on THERAPYCISE and the brilliant Ian Lewis Davies from The Fitness Clinic. If you like the sound of what Ian stands for then again just like previous weeks, know that he gets the FUNdaMENTAL Coach endorsement, you won’t go wrong with working with Ian.

Have an awesome week, have an awesome Sunday and enjoy these next few weeks. December is a great month, now own it.

Chris Hunt is the Head Mind, Body and Life Coach at The FUNdaMENTAL Coach based out of The Hub, Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham