‘If you could put a message on a billboard, to be seen by millions (or billions) of people, what would you say?’
I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to answer this in real life when a journalist from Coles contacted me. They wanted to know a GPs views on Men’s Health. The article we produced is here (and reproduced below). This is in the Coles Health and Beauty magazine – they have printed 500,000 copies of this! What was that one message I wanted to get across?
It’s 2018 and many of you will have made your New Year’s resolutions. Many of these resolutions will have been broken by January 15th! We’re past that date, so for those of you who are left, here are some free Fitness Tips to help you carry on and improve your health in 2018.
Number 3 Fitness Tip from Dr Nick Tellis and Partridge Street General Practice
Get to the Gym…or the Run…or the Swim
We’ve all had those days where we don’t really want to exercise. Abs may be made in the kitchen but they’re certainly not made in bed. Remove the obstacles. Have your gear out the night before – clothes, trainers, swimmers, headphones – whatever you need to Get It Done. Leap out of bed as the morning alarm sings, get your gear, and Get Out.
Once you’re at the gym or pool or about to start your run – Start! If you’re not feeling it after 5-10 minutes, stop and head home. That’s cool, it’s not your day. I can assure you following this tip will hugely increase the amount of exercise you do.
Number 2 Fitness Tip from Dr Nick Tellis and Partridge Street General Practice
Don’t be the fittest person
Here’s the easiest tip here – especially for those of you just starting out. It’s often said that if you’re the smartest person in the room, you need to find a new room. Training with people fitter than you will bring you up with them. Generally people fitter than you have been doing it longer than you have and have built up some great habits and great tips of their own. Let them lift you up!
My personal take on this is that I train with people younger and fitter than me. I take the opportunity to train with greatfemale athletes – even though I’m nearly double their weight, I can almost keep up! 😎
Number 1 Fitness Tip from Dr Nick Tellis and Partridge Street General Practice
Rack Your &%*%ing Weights!
You’ve got to the place of exercise and you’ve lifted/run/swam. It’s time. Time to put the little metaphorical cherry on that big beautiful exercise cake. Time for a little ‘accessory exercise’.
Rack your &%*%ing weights! Seriously! This is free exercise! You’ll feel better, your training buddies will love you, and your friendly gym owner will sing your praises (and maybe even put your picture up in the gym!). Routine will give you strength and is that extra 1% for you when motivation fails. Routine gets you to the gym. Routine gets your training partners to the gym. And the Routine of racking your weights is worth it’s weight in gold.
If you’re running or swimming instead of lifting – that’s cool too. Walk more. Walk to and from your run or swim. That incidental movement – briskly, to be truthful – adds up. It adds up to fitness. It adds up to cardiovascular health. It adds up to a little less weight around the middle. It Adds Up!
You can make a New Year’s Resolutions anytime! Imagine instantly feeling better and healthier with these Three Free Tips from Partridge Street General Practice!
Lose Weight
There is an Easier way to lose your excess weight. Move more, eat less, and eat better. I Guarantee Everyone will have some success with these methods!
First, set some movement goals every day. Ten thousand steps is a good start. Your smart phone will track this for you with no other expensive device required. Your next step is 25-45 minutes of activity that makes you sweat, 3-5 times a week. The step after that – which is ALL that is required for cardiovascular health, is to WALK for 30-60 minutes, 5-7 times a week, BRISKLY enough to NOT be able to hold an easy conversation. Boom!
Second, Get Rid of Sugar. You’ll eat less and you’ll eat better. Just Do It.
Quit Smoking
There is one question I ask of people who want to Stop Smoking.
You are the Youngest you’ll ever be and You have the Most Time you’ll ever have. Invest that Time wisely. Be Grateful. See your Friends and Family (including your Fur Family 😎 ) who make You Feel great! Live your life actively and intentionally. We live in a fantastic time and all things are possible, make the most of it.