Hi there, I'm Dougal Macdonald, thank you for popping in.

Just wanted to let you know that my blog has moved into a stylish new home.

The new address is www.mindbodysuperfit.com so just pop in there and look for 'Daily Dougal' which will take you straight into my blog.

Have a look around while you're there and you may see something that interests you in which case just shoot off an e-mail to us and we'll get back to you.

Thank you for your support, and please pop in to see us at our new home.

2010 warm up

Since it was New Years day I should known when I saw very few vehicles in the car park.

As I walked up the stairs it got worse...no music.

Walked down into 'The Pit' where the 'heavies' train and...there was not one person there.



Now I like interacting with people between sets and I like loud thumping music when I train, nothing.



I sat on a bench a bit crestfallen. My exuberant mood heading to the gym had all but disapeared.



NOW....do I go through the motions or do I get my act together and give it everything.

Didn't take long....got my sorry butt off the bench and gave it 'horns'...ended up being one of my best workouts.



It's not up to the people, the music, or the carpark, it's up to you to make the right choice.

I did...and I ended up a winner on New Years day 2010.

Hope YOU did too Happy New Year

2010 warm up

It was my privilege today.......

....to meet and interact with an impressive young man called Andre.

I was training at Brightwater Commons which is a self contained piece of real estate which houses a beautiful park like expanse which includes retail space, a beautiful Virgin Active gym, a flea market and an interesting Skate Park with lots of berms and bump and rails and jumps etc.

After training I happened to notice a powerful, tanned good looking young man with a pony tail, jeans and a T shirt aged about 20.

He was inside the skate park without a board, moving smoothly around on his feet and motioning with his hands and arms. I could see imediatly thse wern't random movements and I stopped to watch him.... he was almost gliding...it was hypnotic.

I suddenly realised what he was doing. VISUALISING. He was trying new maneuvers in his mind before he actually got his board out. He moved thouroughly all over the park and I was amazed at the detail and care he took to work everything out....jumps, rails, up and down berms, up walls...it was incredible to watch.

Eventually he sat on a railing at the side of the park and just watched the other kids.

I...of course...wanted to chat with him. I went over, introduced myself...to ANDRE.

I started by saying how impressed I was that at such a young age he knew about visualisation techniques and how he was planning everything before hand.

A smile creased his tanned face and he said to me..."Dude, if you ride in a place like this without knowing where you are going, you're gonna get hurt, ya dig" " Man, this is like going to war...I am a warrior and and I don't do this without a plan."

We talked for a long while about 'thoughts becoming things' and how nothing in life gets anywhere without a thought first and both of us did a lot of nodding in agreement with each other.

By now we were talking like old buddy's...generation gap the furthest thing from either of our minds.

After some time, I felt he wanted to skate so I gave him a high five and our hands touched for more than the normal brief second of a typical high five....it was electric, we smiled at each other...the knowing smile of two people who connected at a deep level..WE UNDERSTOOD EACH OTHER.

In saying goodbye he said to me "Dougal, thank you for talking to me, I learned a lot from you."

Wow....he got that the wrong way round....I learned so much from him.

A young man who will go a long way in life.

Today I was privileged to find a DIAMOND...because I dug for one.

Maybe you will too, you just need to dig...I hope you do.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2010 WARM UP

The GAME starts in earnest

Sports Fans, now we really know that we are in a contest...the see saw has tipped and we are on the downward side sliding down the other side FAST

How hard it has been for you up to now will give you some indication of how hard it will be next week and beyond.

Will you be able to have a free meal guilt free or are you dreading that Christmas lunch because you have already gone off track too many times.

Your whole future and indeed the future of the Universe does not depend on the coming week and weekend.

The heavens will NOT come crashing down and the stars will NOT fall from the sky, if you have a bad week and weekend.

Let's get real...Those of us that have just started coming to terms with our H & F issues may have a long way to go and others of us are close to being where we want to be.

Either way if you do slip....and temptation will be running high.... it is one day of your life.

I want to encourage you NOT to head for the ROOF of the nearest building, seek out the latest guru, or feel MASSIVE GUILT over eating foods you hadn't intended to eat...

Take action NOW, today....Affirm for the whole of this coming week..."I love to eat healthy nutritious foods all the time." Nothing lengthy, nothing complicated, just that...Morning when you wake up, at night before sleeping, and as many times during the day as you can.

This will help you to at the very least be aware of your food choices going forward and, if after all this things go wrong, guess what, you are human, but do not wait until after easter to get back on track.

You are one MEAL away from eating perfectly again.

As for me....my plan has always been 2 free meals for the 50 days of the contest....one was my staff lunch, and the other is Christmas lunch with my nephew' and his family....so since it's my PLAN, it allows me to have fun and eat the yummy Christmas fare, come dinner time, it'll be a protein shake.

That's my CHOICE and it is written...therefore, there is no decision to make.



Taken about 7 years ago at 53 with my son....I know about losing the plot... I have been there.

2010 warm up

I am SOOOO grateful........

....for an incredible experience I had today.

Swimming was "written in the book" for training today and so I found myself doing a version of my 20/40 interval training in the pool.

Fully focussed and swimming hard, I got to the (place to put your towel and stuff) end of the pool,at the start of one of my intervals and waited for the clock.

I noticed a girl around 20, walk out of the ladies changeroom and head towards where I was waiting in the pool.

Carrying goggles and fins she staggered towards me in very uncoordinated fashion. She sat down at the end of the pool...well, fell down was more like it, and I thought, hmmm, little early to be hitting the sauce, this girl is going to drown.

Didn't pay much attention and three intervals later she is still there struggling to get her fins and goggles on.

I better keep an eye on her, I thought and carried on. Another two intervals and she was ready to fall into the pool.

It was my rest period and I quietly watched her from behind my tinted goggles.

I am so glad she couldn't see me turn red with embarrassment when it suddenly dawned on me that this girl had cerebal palsy.

Quiet sceptisicm gave way to absolute admiration and I realised that all the lanes were full and no one was about to let an uncordinated girl into the lane with them.

"Come" I said..."come swim in my lane with me". With a beautiful, if somewhat, lopsided smile she struggled to get out a "Thank you".

We discussed the swimming order...her up one side and me up the other and off she went happy as larry thrashing her way up the lane doing backstroke and back again doing freestyle.

Wow....this was absolutely incredible. The girl did not have a minder so can you imagine the amazing mind and self image it would have taken for her to be out there on her own, never mind with confidence in a public swimming pool.

We swam like that for a while and I stopped having completed my training. I waited for her so that I could tell her the lane was hers and doing backstroke she arrived at the end and instead of the elegant tumble turns I was employing she 'back stroked' right into the wall with her head. Ouch. She laughed as she saw me and I told her that I was done.

She stood up put out her hand and said My name is Sarah, what is yours. I told her and she asked me what I was doing for christmas..I told her and a bright smile lit up her face and her eyes sparkled as she gleefully told me she was going to Scotland for the christmas holidays.

We chatted for a while and I got out of the pool thinking...there are some very lucky people on that flight tonight who are going to have their lives enriched by young Sarah. We wished each other Happy Christmas and a wonderful New Year with two high fives...her first one missed and I went on my way.

What an incredible young woman, and the next time one of us feels like the world owes us something let us remember young Sarah, who with all that she has, realises that SHE is the one in control of HER life.

Today my life was made richer by two Sarah's actually, the one I met today and the Saraaaaaaah, for whom I have the greatest respect in England, who undoubtedly will have some enlightening things to say in her post today.

Another example of getting my clients into strange positions

2010 Warm Up

I woke up this morning......

.....with a tremendous sense of anticipation. I lay in bed wondering what it could be. It was still dark, before 4am...most sane people are still fast asleep and probably for another 3 hours or so.

I love the dark, and the darker the better, I don't know what it is, perhaps a refuge, a place where I can be alone in my mind where nobody can see what I'm thinking...but I digress, so, lying peacefully in bed emulating a lithe cat and stretching out, feeling my body move rythmically jerky if that makes sense...one side then the other....hmmm I was almost purring....Then it hit me....BANG

It's UPPER BODY MONDAY but more than that, I have two training partners today, both stronger than I am, unless I'm feeling super competitive and today I am.

I clumsily put the ipod headphones on in the dark and listened to daily affirmations.

"I am lean, muscular and very powerful, I have 7% body fat at 87kgs, I feel fantastic and I'm in the best shape of my life and today is going to be an amazing day."

I saw myself striding out powerfully as I am in my visualisation, big, broad smile in place, on purpose, with a place to go....

That done, chugged down my wake up protein shake, got dressed, and headed into the murky black grey sky that signifies dawn in summer in the Southern tip of Africa.

I couldn't wait to get to the gym.

Got there early....unlocked the doors, unset the alarm, opened the windows, switched on the lights...flicked a switch and heard the familiar whirring sounds of all the gym's electronic equipment coming to life...switched on the CD player and stuck ZZ Top into the deck.

All of a sudden from being a sleepy building the place had come alive....The familiar raw screeching sounds from Billy Gibbons' guitar at full blast raced out of the gym and into the surrounding neighbourhood at 100 miles an hour, dogs started howling and whatever traffic there was came to a grinding halt...

I....took a deep breath, sucked in the unique aroma of a 'working' gym in summer and smiled...I was home.

A short while later the boys arrived and withing minutes there was enough testosterone floating around that gym to
to power up a large still deeply hidden in the back waters of Tennessee.

One hour later....T shirts sodden, hearts beating somewhat faster than normal, three grown men, looked each other and grunted...GOOD JOB BOYS....WE KICKED ASS.


Whoooooo Hooooooooooo, I live for this

Have a blindingly fantastic day

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2010 warm up

Shhhhhhhhhhh.....

It's 5am ish, sunday morning....wouldn't want to wake the neighbours.

Feels like a quiet dreamy day here where I live...A dense suburban area chock a block full of town house complexes.

There are no cars around to pierce the silence and pollute the air and if I had to venture outside, the only sound I would hear, would probably be the slap slap slap of Nike's on the pavement and the familiar raspy breathing of someone out for a run with his Silver Wiemaraner.

My patio door is open and a fresh cool breeze drifts into my living room....The sky is clear and blue and it's going to be a beautiful day.

It's going to be shorts and a T shirt as I impatiently wait for 7am when the gyms will be open and I can head off to swim.

It's a rest day for me today but I am SO FIRED UP that the concept of not exercising is unthinkable, well today anyway.

After I swim, I'll sit in the Gym's lounge and sip an espresso to get my metabolism firing and people watch for a while.

I love watching people of all shapes and sizes hit the gym in a sincere effort to regain their health and self image along with it.

I quietly shake my head at those people who will circle the gym 10 times to find a parking outside the front door and then run on the treadmill for half an hour.

I cast an amused glance at the " DISABLED TOILET" and wonder why they would put a toilet in a gym that doesn't work...silly I know, but hey it's my sunday.

Life is just so wonderful if you allow it to be...and small pleasures like being able to exercise...and the coffee... and thinking fondly about close friends in far away places make it all worthwhile.

Find what whatever it is that makes life work for you and do some of it every day.

Happy Sunday

2010 WARM UP

Does visualisation work?

You bet...Every major sporting team on the planet, every serious athlete, every business man worth his salt, every bodybuilder, every INVENTOR....visualises every day.

Do you think Henry Ford would have embarked on the journey towards building the Model T Ford if he hadn't first seen it in his mind.

How do you you think Walt Disney created 'The Happiest Place on earth' and in the process made millions of children happy....He saw his movies in his mind.

Everything starts with a thought and if you are stuck right now...not making the progress you would want to make maybe it's because you can't see yourself any differently from the way you are now.

If you want to be different in every way one year from now you HAVE to see yourself in a different light. You HAVE to that's all there is to it.

As my team mates Saraaaaah and Eric have shown very effectively, visualisation pictures are one part of attaining the body that you desire...They have both posted pictures of the way they want to look and I believe that ultimately they will both get there.

Hank Johnson, a winner in the body for life competition in the early 90's posted a picture of Frank Zanes's body, with Hanks head on it on his bathroom mirror and his subconscious so effectively accepted that image that Hank ended up looking 'better' than Frank Zane's picture, I think anyway.

I have done the same and my visualisation pic is so effective that whenever I look at it I can actually believe that it is me... Not will be, or could be, it is me.

Here is mine

2010 WARM UP

What is motivation?

.....I mean what does it mean, and how does one find it...or even determine what it is.

I mean what makes an Olympic athlete train for 4 years for an event that is done in less than 10 seconds.

What drives people to be their best, especially in Health and Fitness.

Well winning for one thing. We all like winning and we all want to be winners.

But more important I believe it is focus. It is what you put emphasis on in your life.

If you are having problems with the way you look and have been for some time and you are on and off and on and off, then maybe you are not paying it enough attention. Other things are taking priority in your life.

Maybe work, maybe the kids, maybe it's more important to have a packet (large) of nachos crisps in front of the TV....only you know what it is but I do know this...Until it becomes a priority in your life....

.....Ain't nuttin gonna change.

Make health and fitness the MOST important thing in your life for 30 DAYS....and your life will change FOREVER.

TRUST ME...

2010....warm up

K . A . S . H

When I was a young man starting out in business I learned a very important Mnemonic. It was the one you see above.

Now mnemonics are timeless and so I still see the old chestnuts around all the time KISS....Keep it simple stupid, but KASH was the one that has had the most influence on my life.

I hope there are no kids reading this but....I am extremely fortunate to have zero education...I wouldn't want them to misunderstand. For me personally it has been the best thing I could NOT have.

When I was 15 I was a stevedore on the docks in Durban loading cargo's on and off ships. I mixed with gangsters, prostitutes, smugglers and all sorts of dead beats. This was another advantage for me because I learned how real life worked.

From the docks in Durban to a war in the then Rhodesia for some more major life lessons... but that is for another post...the point is that we and only we are responsible for the knowledge we carry around and I for one am madly, crazy, permanently in love......with BOOKS.

How does your spirit grow and soar if you have no point of reference. How on earth can you fly like an eagle and appreciate the metaphor if you have never read about or listened to someone you respect talk about it intelligently. And I am talking about spirituality as well.

What makes leaders? What makes a Mother Theresa, or a Ghandi, or a Winston Churchill, or any other great leader.

I believe it is an innate knowledge and a desire to listen to that little voice that says..." Go and Do." and that voice is put there by our Creator.

I read voraciously....all kinds of books...I write too, I love to write...I have even written a book about overcoming adversity, a subject about which I consider myself somewhat of an authority....but that's also for another post but.....

.....the point I'm trying to make is, if we, by whatever means become an authority on a subject...and in this case let's talk about Health and Fitness and the emotional side of motivation as it releates to H&F are we honour bound to share our knowledge and experience, if there is even a remote possibility that it will bring hope to even one person, crying out in the wilderness...

....well I believe that we are, since I believe that, that gift has been given to us by an infinately Higher Power.

I also believe that we all have 'the gift' to a greater or lessor extent but we just don't recognise it.

So....if you believe in any way that you can help by GIVING of your knowledge and your spirit...you will find that your life will be so enriched as to wonder why, for all this time, you have been hiding your light under a bushel.

To illustrate more clearly and in real terms what I'm talking about let's look at a real time, real life example.

Sarah from the UK....or Saraaaah as I like to call her....It sounds more posh doesn't it, is a great example.

Here is a bright, vibrant, "full of life" young woman who is charismatic to the extent that wherever she goes she, quickly attracts a veritable army of followers. Now this is not by design on her part it is just that this is who she is...

She writes beautifully and weaves great pictures into her stories so as to make them so much more real but more than that she is inspirational and has great courage. If you know where she has come from to where she is now, you'll know that what she has achieved is no mean feat.

If you want to see the epitome of an incredible transformation then just grab some coffee, pop along to her blog, sit back and enjoy.

No effort on her part, she is just a leader who following her spirit.

I am certainly a big fan.

We all have a responsibility to help our fellow man and I think that if we don't we are ignoring the gifts we have been given.

Oh and By the way....the mnemonic I mentioned above...K.A.S.H ...means...Knowledge, Attitude, Skills and Habits.

Memorise it, ingrain the words into your sub-conscious, understand the meaning...and you will have a new lease on life which will have YOU looking down on the Eagles.

G O F L Y

We are all SUPERHEROES....IF WE WANT TO BE!

2010 warm up

2010 warm up

The thing about planning

I loved what Eric..my 'STOMPER' team mate said the other day.

"My plan for today is written down, that's what it says" to paraphrase.

There is NO negotiation dude....the plan is written, who am I talking to in my head. There is NO discussion here...if it has been planned then it gets done. THAT'S IT.

The fact that the plan has been written negates any discussion whatsoever.

This is SO powerful that I plan to steal it from Eric...I know he won't mind coz we are team mates...and if I use it to STOMP all over the Inner Circle then it's 'all smiles' right.

Most of us negotiate everything we do...'I'll go to the shops on the way home'. On the way we say " Ahh I don't feel like stopping now, I'll do it later'...or 'I'll do my tax return next week.' Next week creeps up with speed that would do an F1 justice and its, 'Oh well, there is always the day after tomorrow' and so we go, bashing our self image to pieces because we can never keep committments we make, to ourselves.

Once you start doing that internally it's one short step away from doing it to others, and worse, family.

Eventually 'I'll see', is met with raised eybrows and the unspoken comment....yeah, we know what that means OK see ya.

That's why a written plan is so powerful...There is NO negotiation. Think about plans carefully before you commit to them, then when it comes time to DO....JUST G E T I T D O N E

Upper body tomorrow....can I wait .....HARDLY...ROLL ON 5AM
wHOOOOOOOOOO hOOOOOOOOOOOO

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 84 + 1

So M3 comes to an end.....and new challenges begin. I'm looking forward to 2010 in the Sphere, I think it will be a time of re-committment for a lot of people and a step for into fantastic shape for others.

We are all learning about ourselves on this journey and as long as we keep learning WHY we do the things we do then it's all smiles right.

Every day I learn about myself....because every day I search myself for better ways to do things. Ingrained habits from long ago are harder to overcome because my subconscious takes longer to accept a new 'program'...but it does eventually and little by little I am NOT who I was even, 2 years ago.

I am a new, better human being. I have decided to keep on going right through the holidays and see how committed I can be to a new program M4. So my goals through the holidays are to bigger, better, harder and leaner than I am now.

Come with me and let's get to the other side....BETTER than we are now.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 82

The Incredible Hulk is back.

Some days you just feel like you are invincible. That nothing can touch you, that everything is going right. Today is one of those days for me.

I have to believe that the cause of this fabulous day is that new affirmations are taking root in my subconscious.

Every morning and every evening and sometimes during the day I tell God how grateful I am for everything that I am and I recite all my positive affirmations...the more I do that, the quicker they take root and over ride any negative thoughts I may have.

Your subconscious is completely non judgmental and accepts and follows instructions and orders from you with military precision. It couldn't care less that they are good or bad for you.

If you think this is 'hooey' ponder this. Oh here we go again, I'm such a loser, I can't stick to anything. If you have ever said that to yourself you are giving your subconscious a suggestion which will be followed whether you like it or not .....and that is why time and time again that suggestion becomes reality.

So since your sub-conscious will accept any suggestion you give why not make it a positive one instead of the above, such as:

I enjoy the body of my dreams and I am lean and muscular, fit, healthy and strong and I love my life.

If that is your affirmation for health and fitness and you use it constantly it will overide the negative statement you have been using and you will find that you start to become what you affirm.

"Everything that I am is a result of everything that I have thought." If you accept that as the truth doesn't it make sense to start seeing yourself in a different light and in time you will become the product of your new affirmations.

Hey, what do you have to lose....Give it a shot for 30 days and you'll be blown away.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 81

The Blond one

Was a soldier

A Lifetime ago I spent a lot of time trudging up and down the hills and dales of Rhodesia, as it was then, during what was known as "The Bush War". I was young and it seemed like a great adventure.

When I look back however I realise that NOTHING good can come out of war. On either side. Religious wars, political wars, territory wars, weapons of mass destruction wars......all you are going to get is death on a massive scale and a whole lot of sorrow.

Except....hang on a minute......cities are rebuilt, things are put back together, lifetime friendships between previously bitter enemies are formed, agreements between countries....so actually there is some good in everything but specifically what I'm referring to today is the rebuilding and even more specific....the rebuilding of US, you and I.

It is never too late to start. No matter where you are in your life the despair you feel CAN be turned around in an instant.....that instant of THOUGHT.

When you think ......" I have had enough of living this way, this far and no further, I will not live like this one more day". ..... you have in an instant found your way back.

From that moment of reconciliation with...YOURSELF you have begun a journey, longer for some than others, that will propel you to victory, that most important victory, over yourself.

Everybody has a different way of doing it but from that moment you determine the way forward, the modus operandi will reveal itself to you...Something you see or hear or read will resonate and you'll know that this is the one for me.

If you havn't yet reached that point you will soon.... and that despair you feel now, will evaporate, in that of thought.

Peace and Love

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 80

Listen to the sound of your own voice

If you want to know what's going on in your life listen to the sound of your own voice.

The amazing thing is, that if you are aware of the sound your voice is making your spirit automatically modulates the tone to become more kind and gentle, you don't actually have to DO anything.

It's like living your life on purpose instead of by accident. I read a wonderful saying the other day that goes something like "All that I am is as a result of all that I've thought"

So it makes perfect sense that if you want to improve your sense of self, beyond thought...pay attention to 'the sound of your own voice' and see what happens.

Peace and Love

M3 | SHRED2SHRED

Those were the days ....1989

But these are the days too.

I think we all look back thinking that it was so much easier and things were so much better and it was so much more fun.

What we forget is that WE create all that. I mean, it is only 'we' that are responsible for the way our lives go.

Across the pond in England it is winter right now and some people hate that, but as Saraaaaaah says it's an opportunity to wear beautiful winter clothes and with the work she has put into her health and fitness I'm sure she looks sensational and feels sensational.

Point is...there is upside to anything and everything, we just have to find it. That is a choice we make.

We can spend our lives whining about how tough things are or 'make a decision' to have a fabulous life filled with fun and laughter and opportunity, all created by our state of mind.

It really is a 'choice'.....a decision.

So.....wherever you are on the planet today, as you sit up and put your feet over the side of the bed..what sort of day are YOU going to have.

You get to 'CHOOSE'

M3 | SHRED2SHRED

The Semi-Nude wandering minstral

You might be forgiven for thinking I'm trying a new angle to take my show on the road.

Actually I wanted to illustrate that I, like everybody else, have other interests. For you it may be reading...or writing...and by the way those are both things that I love to do...but no, I'm talking about music.

I love music and have done all my life. When I was around 20, in between stints in the bush in the, then Rhodesia I owned and ran a Mobile Disco...Yes they were all the rage even then. I had a lot of fun, made some money, and learned a lot about music.

Nowadays although I love to listen I also love to play....and as you can see in my picture today, acoustic guitar is my thing.

Now, I love blues genius like Stevie Ray Vaughan and Gary Moore and BB king and songs like Parisienne Walkways and Smoke on the water and Stairway to heaven, Hendrix's All along the watchtower and watching him play Hey Joe with his teeth but I also love ballads and of course I grew up with the Beatles.

Music feeds my soul and if I ever feel a bit down music is what picks me up. I go to sleep most nights with music being fed into my ears via Ipod.

It doesn't work for me but I see lots of people listening to music in the gym and that's cool.....

......But I need to concentrate on what I'm doing and whilst I am busting a gut on a very hard aerobic functional training day, I doubt I would even hear a note...unless it was the unpleasant melody of a BIG plate falling off one side of the Olympic bar.

So....in these trying times in which we live, find something that is a release for you....apart from physical exercise and clean eating that is.....maybe guitar is for you....Give it a try and let's see if we have another Eric Clapton within our misdst.

Have a fabulously musical day

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 57

What is it about health and fitness........

........ that scares people off. Is it because they think it's going to hurt, or be boring, or too time consuming, or they won't keep it up.

I don't know the answer to that question but what I do know is that once you've made a commitment to transform your body and your mind, by the way, everything changes.

So it ends up not being about a beach body but more about getting your life in order from the top down.

When you have a plan, and you are accountable, procrastination is no longer an issue in your life.
If you are accountable and you belong to a team neither is mediocrity an issue either.

Training in the gym, swimming actually, this morning my thoughts were on the people I am accountable to and how I owed them my very best. I gave my very best and guess what...I had a fantastic session which benefitted...ME.

If we applied these principles to everything in our lives, every day would be so much simpler.

Have a lovely day, your choice.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 56

I LOVE rugby and it's obvious who my team is (The World Champions)....but if you visit me at all you already know that.

The amount of rugby played annually around the world is immense but specifically in the southern hemisphere is crazy.

The year starts with the Super 14.... 14 southern hemisphere teams made up from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa....more than 3 months of super intense rugby. A South African team is the super 14 champion this year

Then we had the British and Irish Lions rugy tour. Which we won.

Then came the tri nations competition....which we won.

Now we are in the middle of domestic rugby...The currie cup competititon which a South African team will definately win. LOL.

And then...............comes The Springbok tour of England.......

ooooh.....shivers run down my spine at the very thought of it.

But getting back to reality....that is the VERY physical game of rugby for almost the whole year with very few breaks in between.

These guys are absolutely world class athletes and train very scientifically with all the latest equipment, coaches and techinical staff and that's how they manage to play at top level most of the time.

We however.....are not...

We need to pace ourselves. If we are to enjoy a lifetime of health and fitness...periods of interval resistance training, strength training, hypertrophy and other forms of training are very necessary and at regular intervals. Rest, I believe, personally to be necessary as well, not only for the body but the mind.

Our minds get bored and tired of doing the same thing day in and day out and the best way to fix this is an annual schedule.

Periodise your training over the course of a year and plan for the whole year ahead. That way you know you won't get bored but you also won't be in the position of not knowing what to do, when a mission is complete.

Plan rest periods, different kinds of cardio exercise and so on...take your time, make it fun...and you'll find that come the end of next year....you will be THE MACHINE you always wanted to be....AND....the lifestyle will have become a habit.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 52

FORM is everything

I am learning a new skill. I have been pecking at a keyboard for 44 years now and I'm pretty quick...but I make a lot of mistakes and have to go back to correct them all the time. That's inefficient.

So...I decided yesterday to learn a new skill...or more correctly to change inefficient poor FORM.

In other words I'm teaching myself to touch type. See, as well as being a Health and Fitness professional I am a writer....makes sense doesn't it.

And....it's fun.....learning a new skill or correcting poor form turned into a game is great way to accelerate progress and I reckon it won't be long before I am an expert touch typist.

Poor form in resistance training is also a BIG no no and your progress will be severly hampered if you are not sure about whether you are doing an exercise correctly or not.

Let me explain. Barbell Bench press for example is a compound exercise intended to exercise the "Pectoralis major " muscle with the secondary muscle being triceps. Since no muscle works in isolation there are other muscle groups involved but in BB BP the chest is your primary focus and everybody knows that don't they.

Or is it....If you go into the bench press position with your hands too close together all of a sudden it places a lot more emphasis onto the Triceps and the chest does not get the work it should.

Another good example is Tricep pushdowns. The correct form in order to isolate the tricep is to stand up straight with your shoulders down and back before you extend your arms downwards. But you'll see all the 'big boys' bent right over the bar using the whole stack and pushing down with the uppers lats and deltoids, otherwise known as back and shoulders..Yes the triceps are getting work but nowhere as efficiently as they should.

The message is....don't do what the monsters are doing and....make sure that your form is correct all the time....if you are going to spend time in the gym every day....make it worthwhile.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 50

You CANNOT push the river

Only one thing swims up stream and it's not us. Fish.....The mighty trout/salmon...swims up stream to spawn....and then some of them die.

Not what we would want for ourselves so then WHY do we try and 'push the river'

I don't mean go with the flow necessarily but sometimes we need to because that's how we get to where we are going the quickest.

We have a lot of accidents in South Africa caused by Taxi's colliding with cars. ( taxi's defined as minibuses in SA) Johannesburg is an absolute cowboy town and often Taxi's will simply drive against the flow of traffic in the wrong lane to get their fares to a destination expeditiously during rush hour...or any time really....and accidents occur. Sometimes weapons are drawn and a 'gunfight at the OK corral' happens.

I'm sure research would show that the taxi's don't actually get their quicker than anyone else...that's if they make it at all.

And so what has this to do with health and fitness. Well...there are certain times when it is NOT advisable to exercise.

When you have FLU and...it matters not whether it is in viral or bacterial stage, if your heart rate is up.....DON'T DO ANYTHING.

When you become bacterial however and an upper respitory tract infection rears it's ugly head....use the opportunity to chill in bed for a couple of days....and let dad/mom do all the work.

Certainly no cardio....you can easily damage the heart muscle and cause serious if not permanent damage my messing with it.

You are 'outside of your circle of influence' rest up...that's what you should be doing.

Do not think about work....the kids....preparing food...etc, just plain old rest. Allow your mind get stressed out about the dozens of things you have to do and you'll get worse.

Let mind and body work together to heal you and you will get better when you get better.

Don't try and 'push the river' Leave that to the fish

M3 | SHRED2SHRED

Standing on the shoulders of giants.

Why are there so few giants...Lack of confidence...maybe maybe not. Laziness maybe....maybe not.....No desire, maybe... maybe not.....and what makes a giant, Zest for life...absolutely....wanting to learn...definately, being the best unequivically.....and quinetessentially...all of those.

What am I talking about. YOUR LIFE is what.

If health and fitness is important in your life you should....no make that MUST become a giant.
Why....because there are so many methodologies, some right some wrong, so many nutrition programmes some good some bad and so many ways of doing things some sane and some off the wall that shouldn't you at least know what you are doing and why.

Questioning is always the best way to learn and so is teaching.

So...what on earth am I talking about? I hear you asking with wrinkled brow and turned up eyes.

KNOWLEDGE....reading, learning and applying the knowledge you have, to being the best you can be. There are so many people globally who are doing so much scientific research on biomechanics and the way the body works and the knowledge that has come out of that, that it no longer makes sense to be training according to a the old bodybuilding routine. Split body parts....Chest, Back and Biceps and Shoulders, legs and Triceps. Why not...you ask...the monsters still do that today....How do you know...have you ever seen one.

Today most of us are NOT bodybuilders, in the truest sense of the term...in other words, we are not competing on the stage...So why are we doing what we do. Yes...to become fit, healthy and strong. SO.....split body part routines are not for us because....Body parts do NOT work in isolation. Every muscle works with another muscle to provide a biomechanically sound movement. The way a human body moves is a miracle and should we therefore not assist it by training for life function rather than simply size and aesthetics.

What I mean is....Mom's should be simulating movement that equates to picking up kids, or moving a shopping cart around, or picking up shopping bags or cleaning house and doing washing etc.

There is even a name for it...functional training. Training for function and the theory of 'specificity' has been around a very long time. It says if you play basketball, train for basketball...don't be running 12 miles a day because you are wasting your time.

Supersetted Interval training with weights and a cardio component is the most efficient way to get strong and fit at the same time...and let's face it time is something most of us don't have enough of. Add in a fat loss, strength and hypertrophy component to the mix and you have all you need to get the results you want.

Think about what you are doing and if it's not working for you...change it, oh, and if you don't believe what I'm telling you....GOOGLE it.

You are worth your OWN research, not someone else's

Have a nice day

M3 | SHRED2SGRED 49

10 weeks until christmas....
or at least until most people head on vacation.

That's 70 days to get into shape before you bare all on the beach. Will you be ready.

DON'T say.... I'm so far off I have no chance... I might as well back off my eating and training a bit...I'll never make it. That's just another version of the "I'll start again on monday" syndrome.

That kind of thinking will take you deeper into that black hole that you are digging. You are planning to go to the beach anyway....so, if you start today you will be a l o n g way towards your goal and you will have made heavy inroads into the extra weight you are carrying.

Isn't it better to look close to your best than to look exactly the same as you are now but carrying a whole lot more mental baggage....No brainer.

So...DON'T put it off for one more day....make your plans...or reinforce that what you are doing is right...and get going.

I have decided to train before my first client in the mornings from now until December and I started training this morning with my nephew. Had a fantastic session and nothing better than the thought of being in top shape 10 weeks from now but also helping my nephew to back into top condition as well.

I am human so I also have to admit to a tiny hint of saitisfaction that I breezed through the session whilst my nephew who is half my age was complaining that his heart was jumping out of his chest..... Kids. LOL

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 46

How is it MY FAULT...

I belong to a fantastic Health and Fitness forum called 'The Shreddersphere'...more like home really and I post into my 'Sphere' blog on a regular basis as well, which is why I post pictures of me in next to nothing in case you have been wondering.

ACCOUNTABILITY....is the single most motivating factor, for me to make progress and the reason why most people make progress.. I believe...

Next part of the picture is that word RESPONSIBILITY. Everything within our circle of influence is OUR responsibility. Of course it's your fault if you get fat and out of shape....Did someone else hold you down and force a 'BUD' or six and 3 burgers down your throat.

The fact that you didn't plan your meals last night and consequently downed three chocolate bars before anyone could see is whose fault exactly....

And so back to 'The Sphere'.......RTP-TS the health and Fitness program designed by Adam Waters, creator of the Sphere, sponsored a global physique competition a short while back and now that it is over things seem to have gone a little quiet in there.....

.....and the question is....what's happened in here and why is it so quiet?

The answer came from someone who has claimed absolutely amazing results on the program and is not afraid to call a spade a spade...in the nicest way possible of course.

If we want the Sphere to be the vibrant exciting supportive home that it was, then guess what...WE HAVE TO MAKE IT SO.

We are what made it in the first place. Adam provided the shell and we are what's inside the shell...WE need to take responsibility to make it hum again.

So my friend Saraaah has pledged to recommit herself to making a difference within the sphere and I do the same.

I will take daily pictures and post a blog Monday to Friday from now on. My Mission 3 has 38 days to run and I really want to see what progress I can make in those remaining days before I move onto mission 4.

Join me on the journey and perhaps I can be of service to you, in your journey to find superb Health and Fitness

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 44

Get your HEAD on straight dude

Just a BLIP on the radar

As a I was explaining to a good friend yesterday...I cannot in all good conscience share the good without the bad.

I am certainly not superhuman and although most are great days...some aren't I wouldn't want to create the impression that they are.

So I choose to share my feelings with you when things are wonderful but also when things happen to be a bit off.

HOWEVER, sports fans.....the sun is shining again....the dark clouds have moved on and it's a new day...

Life is good.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 44

AFTERMATH what a weird feeling.

The week after the weekend after my 60th birthday.....and I feel feverish, headachy, and all the other nasties that happen with flu...Except that I also feel a little out of control, disconnected from the world, wanting to withdraw, a little fear, and a whole lot of other feelings that I am struggling to identify.

Maybe it's that getting to that milestone is an exciting place but when the day is done and everyone goes on about their business and you suddenly realise that....hey you are actually 60...wow ok what now.

Maybe you suddenly realise that there are more years behind you than there are in front of you...maybe it's that you find you are attending more funerals than weddings and that you are having to repeat yourself more often with some of your friends.

Maybe it's the feeling of being a little less tolerant of certain things.....getting a little irritable when things aren't as you would want them and so on.

Now I know myself and I know that these feeling will pass in a day or two and I also know that I am fit and healthy and strong....which means what exactly

We all have to get through times that feel unfamiliar to us whether we like it or not....for some of us...introspection is not really necessary...it's just a matter of riding it out.

For me.....I know that the sun will be shining...tomorrow, or maybe the next day...

...and if you hapen to be where I am...I hope will for you to.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 60

What is age.....some people are young at 60 others are old at 30. Age is a matter of deciding how old you are ...it is not about a chronological number it's about action....it's about the decision to make every day count, to make the most of what you are and what you have been given and what you are going to be.

It's about being ALIVE and it's about LIVING

Some of the things I have learned along the way:

Love...You are never to old to fall in love
Patience....You cannot push the river
Balance...the bigger the adversity, the bigger the blessing
Strength....being strong enough does not mean pushing through people
Service.....become a giver ...being a servant is the mark of a leader
Perspective.....you can only see into the future if you climb mountains
Accountability......even world class athletes have a coach
Calling....the only way to happiness is to understand your calling, and do it with passion
Adversity....the greatest gift there is.....overcome that and you are a giant
Goals.....each one you achieve allows you to climb a higher mountain with same effort
Honour self promises.....when you trust yourself you become the best you can be
Don't read the paper or listen to the news....it'll only upset you
Thank God.....every day for giving you everything you need to be a superstar
One foot....in front of the other is all you need to become a champion
Attitude...you CAN choose the right one each day when you get out of bed

I have many many others but I don't want to keep you here all day....and, so, why am I telling you all this.

Because today I am
6 0

Have a fabulous day...It's your choice

M3 | SHRED2SHRED

A POSITIVE attitude in a negative environment


A comment from a reader, Eric really made me sit up and think and I think it needs repeating in today's post.

From Eric
Live your own reality.

"My fitness challenge has helped so much through this. Although no one is moving away, here in the states. No one is moving. As the owner of a building materials company, makes for a rough go of things. Every day I have started taking my employees (at least the ones at the main branch) for a walk. It is amazing the change in mood from just 20 minutes of movement."

Now, that's what I call a positive attitude in a negative environment. The US is going through maybe the worst time now since the great depression of '29 and when you own as Eric does, what sounds like a fairly large business you CANNOT afford to let your staff get down. Motivating, and keeping them motivated should be very high on your priority list and Eric has done this in brilliant fashion. Joseph Pilatus once said " The pre-requisite for happiness is health and fitness." to paraphrase him, and that is a fact.

If I were Eric I would be instituting a nationwide competition amongst employees in his building materials company to walk every day and I would be PUBLICLY rewarding people in each branch who walked the furthest each month, or the quickest or lost most weight or whatever, you get the picture. I would also reward employees who encouraged other employees to join the "Get Going and Get Fit Club" (You can use that eric :-))and I honestly believe he would have a much healthier (mentally, emotionally, physically, productively and financially) happier business were he to do this.

Why don't we all support Eric by committing to talk to SOMEONE in our circle, be it work social, church, wherever about getting off the couch and onto the road.

C'MON everybody, let's use those NIKE's for the purpose for which they were designed.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED

The GIFT of adversity


A new week starts and I am fully 'amped' for fantastic progress.

My new training program is taking shape nicely and I am getting my head around less heavy weights now, so...all is good.

My eating is spot on and I'm looking forward to my best ever by christmas.

I am motivated...fully motivated, by accountability and...my clients.. and day by day I am getting better and better.

There is always someone who is worse off than we are....we just don't realise it sometimes.

I heard this weekeend that my neurosurgeon Carle and his partner operated on a 5 year old boy who had a bad fall over the weekend and broke his neck at C1,C2,C3,C4........a hangmans fracture at C2....exactly the same as mine.

They did a full spinal fusion with titanium inserts ...exactly like mine.

Man....my heart broke for the little guy. At least I had a lifetime of being physically active and playing a lot of sport before I broke mine. This little guy will never turn his head again....neither will I but...he is 5.

I am hopeful that research will find something that will help him as he gets older and I am very grateful that I am able to spend time in the gym and to walk outdoors but until then....he is going to learn how to be a very brave little fellow....and so are his parents and maybe...somewhere in there....is a blessing.

It may sound trite but....learning how to overcome adversity is a gift. I think it is anyway.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED

Are you HAPPY and at PEACE?

Your level of happiness and peace depends on how much you are prepared to give.

I'm writing this for one person. I have no idea who you are or where on this beautiful planet you live but I know it's for you.

The only way to live your life completely is to take responsibility. A friend of mine has put a media campaign together in an effort to coax South Africans into caring for others and developing a giving attitude.

It's called LOVE and RESPECT and is a contract you sign with yourself to make yourself accountable (that word again) the message goes like this:-

I ............................ promise to love and respect, myself, my loved ones, my family, my friends, my fellow mankind, and all the people who visit our beautiful land.

By starting with myself, I take full responsibility for my actions, my life and my interactions with all living things around me.

Signed.....................

It's amazing how your life changes when you decide that from this second on you are not going to blame anyone else, ever again for anything that goes wrong in your life.

"I'm sorry I was late for the meeting the traffic was hectic" Hmmm, perhaps you should have left earlier.

"I am so busy I don't have time to exercise" My diary is always free 45 minutes before I wake up.

"So and so made me do this" No one can make you do anything, you allow them to.

You get the picture.

We cannot control external circumstances like, the weather, the traffic, rude people etc but we can control the one thing that is MOST important in our lives....what's inside our head and what WE CHOOSE to put in there. Guard your mind closely, it's your most important asset.

If YOU, and you know who you are, are having a down day, take responsibility for the way you feel, for there is a very simple foolproof solution. Pick up your mobile, access your contacts list and scroll until a name jumps out at you. Phone that person and tell them you were thinking of them, you care for them and you just wanted them to know that. You will find that it uplifts you instantly but what you don't know is how much it will do for them.

Go on DO IT NOW....No not later NOW.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 32

What's happening in MY head today

All I know is that life is FANTASTIC. Why because that's what I 've decided. Everything in life is a choice. Take responsibility for everything that happens in your life and make smart choices.

So..I decided long ago that life for me would be made from a rich tapestry of diverse and interesting things. So it has proved. It's that simple.

Your attitude really does determine where you are in life and if you want to be happy and you're not, it's as simple as changing your attitude. Refresh your head, or reboot your mental harddrive with positive happy software.

Your friends and family will love you sooo much more.

PEACE OUT

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 31

It is impossible, I believe to attain and then maintain a lean healthy physique without what Adam Waters calls Powerful Reasons Why (PRW's), which is why I am part of the Shredder network called "The Shreddersphere"

I acknowledge that I need help and support to achieve my health and fitness goals. I therefore need a platform on which I can set down my dreams, bare my soul, be encouraged by others in whom I can place my trust, are of similar mindset, and reciprocate with encouragement and advice, when asked for.

MY PRW " POWERFUL REASON WHY"

Why # 1 It is critical for me, and I desire, to attain peak physical condition and remain so for the balance of my days on this planet. I have seen first hand the life sustaining value of being strong and healthy.

Why # 2 My body is a temple and it is an insult to my Creator to lay waste and neglect what I have been so lovingly given.

Why # 3 My personal mission is to "empower 5 million people to find and fulfill their purpose through health and fitness. I CANNOT evangalise looking like a schlump.

Why # 4 Being out of condition does my head in and I'm exhausted from fighting myself about what I stick in my mouth.

Why # 5 I want to LIKE the way I look

Why # 6 I've been in peak condition before...I KNOW what it looks like and I want it back.

Why # 7 Because I am a shredder, I have by inference, made a promise to all of you, that my commitment is to attaining peak condition and performance and I will not let you down.

Why # 8 Because personal integrity is paramount to me and this is one of the ways that I will build and keep building it.

Signed
dougal macdonald
"work in progress"

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 28

One of the things I love about my business is my work clothes. (as above) Can't remember the last time I wore a suit and/or tie and that suits me...no pun intended....just fine.

The other thing I love...well I have two loves but the one I'm talking about here is the thrill I get watching clients or potential client getting excited about getting into shape.

I have just had a meeting with a potential client and his wife and it just makes my spirit soar when they just ' get it '.

I so look forward to the next 12 weeks with them ...at least.....until christmas and watching the metamorphosis from feeling terrible physically and emotionally to the emergence of confident lean attractive people contributing positively to the eradication of obesity.

That is why I do what I do....and love it.

PEACE LOVE HARMONY

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 27

Found this lying around my blog and thought it would be interesting for you to see where I was in the beginning of this year

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

The road less travelled

SU R G E R Y AGAIN

Before I went on vacation I had been taking two different types of antibiotic in a last ditch attempt at killing the infection in my body.

Well the bad news is that it hasn't worked.

The solution....I'm going in to hospital next week to have all the hardware out of my head and spine. It seems that the infection has found a home at the base of the hardware and clearly does not intend to leave.

OK let it stay there.... the hardware will end up in the trash and the infection along with it.

So I will be scarce for a while until I'm out of hospital and then I can start again with a vengance.

I'm not going to post until I'm out since I have a lot to organise and clearly won't be doing any training.

See you when I get back.


So....obviously things went well and....I am strong healthy and fit....and loving life.

C'mon.....Off the couch and put those new Nike's to work.

M3 | SHRED2SHRED 26

Putting things in perspective

There has been a lot in press lately about a young girl called Caster Simenya and if you have never heard of her follow this link. Don't forget to come back, this is important.

We think, well mostly, anyway, that we are the centre of the universe. Now hold on there, before you go looking for a bullwhip, I am not being derogatory so let me explain.

We wake up in the morning....bumble around trying to wake kids up, feed them, get them dressed, and off to school in one piece after picking up pieces of the home work off the kitchen table after cleaning off the ketchup....or, if you are the man, stumbling around trying to shake off the effects of the six martini's thrown down your throat following the successful signing of that new contract, whilst trying to find your tie, that goes with the new Boss suit in your cupboard.

Now if that sounds remotely like you....then you ARE the centre of your universe....how could you not be....you don't have time to think about ANYTHING else.

Well....let's put things in perspective.

Castor Simenya...in case you have been living on another planet....is a phenominal 18 year old athlete. In fact she is SO phenominal that she is the WORLD 800 metre champion.

This is where the problems start....here is a young girl who grew in the middle of nowhere in the middle of darkest Africa.

What made her radically different from the other kids was 1) She could run like the wind and 2) Was she actually a SHE or was she a HE.

But that's getting ahead of things. When she became the world champion people started asking questions about how she could be so far ahead of the game at such a young age. Then that ugly phrase started being bandied about. "GENDER TESTING'.

The Australian press then released a story which illustrates graphically the absolute indignity with which this young woman was treated.....Legs in the air, splayed, photographs taken...I mean WOW.

The reults....She was an 'Hermaphrodite'...or was she? Read the link and you'll find out.

The point of this is not to highlight the desperately sad plight of this remarkable athlete, who's family..back then...probably wouldn't even know the meaning of the word but to ask everyone to WAKE UP.

The next time you stumble out of bed after turning over and going back to sleep when your ' time for gym' alarm goes off, spare a thought for what this amazing person has had to go through to get to the state of health and fitness that she OWNS currently and which made her a world champion.

Her " Triumph over adversity was becoming the world 800 mtr champion.....WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE"

Oh and by the way....what is she doing today....studying at Pretoria university and training like hell.