Kia ora guys and girls!
 
As I sit here in one of my favorite cafe’s called Deckchair just off the beach in Mount Manganui, New Zealand it is the perfect Saturday morning to sit back, reflect and take the time to update you all and once again bring you all on a journey as I go from your “every day” athlete to the top of my game for the second time.
 
As most of you are aware my journey started in 2012, when I went from 118 to 83kg’s over a period of 6 months after changing my lifestyle completely, which included but not limited too; focusing on eating healthy natural foods (unpackaged and non-processed foods), having an active lifestyle and I feel most importantly, having a reason why. My journeys key point though is that not only had I managed to drop the weight, but I had gone from being someone out there competing to finish, to competing for the top of the podium which is not always the case for a “big lad” and in no way was it easy as my work ethic reflected my result.
 
So and update on where I am at; I am 15 months on from exceeding expectations by completing a 2017 Taupo ironman on a very windy and hot day in the time of 9.46 hours. At this time I weighed 74 kg and was extremely fit after building on the base I had, in addition to this I also achieved a 4.10 hour half Ironman to my surprise!. It is amazing to look back to my first half Ironman where I finished in a time of 5.14.59 😱.
 
So what’s new, where am I at? Well after Ironman my priorities changed and I made the decision to focus on my career, buying a house and life with my fiancé I balanced out at my natural weight of 83/84 kg but, with the last six weeks of traveling Europe I have found myself tapping on 90 kg’s.
 
So I thought to myself, why not share with my readers, followers and ThinkFitPod listeners my journey and commit to a weekly blog over 10 weeks to share my journey and give you my step by step guide on what I do to get fit, get on top of my game and live a healthy life.
 
So here is today’s lesson; Establishing your why, Setting a plan and Accountability.
 
I feel these three things for me are so, so vital in a lifestyle change and below I will touch on these and next week I will explain in more detail.
 
Establishing your why; the first vital step toward losing weight successfully is mental. Determine why you want to lose weight and let this reason be your motivation. Do you want to regain your health and self-esteem? Are you looking to be a role model for your children? Do you simply want to fit into your old jeans again? Any reason is valid as long as it minimizes your self-destructive behavior. I also believe you need to ask yourself the question “Why” of your answer multiple time's to truly have a strong reason why.
 
If you don’t question your reason why and don't get what I call “below the water line” at the beginning, then giving into temptation can be far too easy.
 
What is my reason why? My reason re-sounds with me which is “I want to feel healthy, I want to feel confident about myself, I want to run with ease, I want to have a healthy and strong mental health” these for me are my reason why, why I want to get out and exercise when I feel tired, why I want to eat healthy and why I will put my health and mental wellbeing first.
 
Setting a plan: now that I have my reason why, I can begin to set a plan, this is what I want to achieve in the week as a goal without a plan, is planning to fail. So for me this is planning my weekly meals, weekly exercise/ stretching and daily reflection. I will go into more detail on this next week!
 
Accountability: that’s what this is! But also, I have set accountability with my fiancé. To kick start my accountability, it is weekly weigh in, daily reflections of my food log and weekly post reflecting on the week. Accountability is a great way to ensure you stay to your plan, especially when your why might not seem that “important” when you are in the moment of temptation.
 
So with that said, if you are up for the 10 week accountability plan to get started then post below your why and who is helping you be accountable (if that’s me then let’s go).
 
I’m looking forward to sharing my journey with you along with the challenges.
 
Until next week, let’s do this team!
 
Robo

Kia ora guys,

Well it’s exactly a year to the weekend that I smashed out my second ironman, and as I watch footage of athletes from last year I am reminded of how amazing the sport is and as such I have jumped on my bike and currently doing a session midday sweating my butt off 🤣

So, build part two; for the last few months I have been clocking up km’s on the bike and focusing on key swim sessions from Perth’ swim smooth group and as such have done a fair amount of benchmarking as I enter phase to of my re-build.

This week I posted a strong FTP (bike test) to test my bike strength on my RevBox wind trainer and posted a 265 watt FTP and in the pool I set my CSS (Swim strength test) and posted a 1.27 min/100m

It’s funny, I found I was doubting myself coming into these sessions because of anxiety over a number.... even though with minimal expectations I found I was judging myself.

To be honest, I don’t have the answer but I feel it might be because of how strong I was last year and although I know where my priorities have been for the last year, I guess a side feels others would judge.

It’s funny how the ol mind work’s and if you don’t realize it there is potential for some people this could restrict them from achieving their best or pushing themselves out of their comfort zone (just something for you to be aware of as self awareness is so key).

So with that said, before we go to deep here, I have my benchmark and this next effort is going to help me increase it.

Until next time, keep on thinking fit!

Robo

And what a new year it is kicking off to be from the photos below.. I am engaged! :)

Swim

Time: 29.08 min
Avg Heart Rate: 164
Pace p/100m: 1:33
Cadence rpm: 32

I was second into the water with a running start and settled into my own stroke keeping clear of others to race my own race, my siting was spot on and I kept pretty calm and built up the intensity as we turned the last boey and headed into shore.

Bike

Time: 2:25.36 hr
Avg Heart Rate: 160
Watts: 219
N/Watts 234
Watts p/kg: 2.82
Cadence: 82 (2 rpm lower than previous races)

I rode smart throughout the race, racing to heart rate I spent 30km by myself until I found myself with a group and used this to my advantage to keep me pushing forward on the second half of the ride.

I continued to use OSM cranberry bites which I had one every 15km from as soon as I got on the bike and drunk two bottles of water and a bottle of Pure Sport Nutrition which has continued to work well for me.

Run

Time: 1:36.40 hr
Avg Heart Rate: 165
Ave pace min/km: 4.36
Cadence: 89

On the run I made sure I would not push over 160 beats for the first lap and found my self in a 4.30-4.40 pace between aid stations etc. which I found great to walk through every second one and keep my core temperature down. Naturally my heart rate increased and with the last 3km I picked up the intensity to the finish chute to run a very consistent/controlled run.

On the run I had a cranberry OSM bite after 5km and then a Horleys lime gel on the 12th km, once again at found the gel on the run worked well over using coke.

Total

Time: 4:36.20 hour
Average Heart Rate: 163
Age Place: 13th
Overall Place: 92nd

Overall I am stoked, my heart rate intensity was the same as my last 70.3 however obviously my pace and power numbers were down, there is only one way from here and that's up!

Kia Ora guys!

I hope all is well in your world! Things are really good for me (Despite battling a cold for the last three weeks). Weeks seem to be flying by and I'm attempting make the most of every day.

I know, sounds deep to kickstart a new blog post but after our last ThinkFit podcast with Bevan James Eyles it's hard not to take time to reflect, so strap in team, we are going on a ride!

One key take away I took from our discussion with Bevan was to make time to reflect on each day if I made the most of the day. Since our chat every evening when I jump into bed, I try to make time to reflect on my day to ensure what I am doing and who I surround myself with are adding value to my life which for me is key to feeling fulfillment or success.

I know, crazy thoughts right but, I feel it's so key to reflect to ensure we continue to re-evaluate our goals. I feel this is important because as we grow and our values change, usually our goals change too and only when we reflect can we be proactive.

I got told the other day, "you are lucky to be successful", yes, you read that right the word "Lucky", now I am a full believer in "you get out what you put in" or as you have heard me say from time to time, "Nihil Boni Sine Labore" nothing is achieved without hard work. I got told this is apparently the "true millennial" mindset but is it really? or is this someone whose cup is half empty, someone who lives day in day out unhappy without reflecting and creating goals to initiate change to create fulfillment.

Now I get given s*%# for my cup half full approach in life but is it really that bad, when I make sure I do what I love in all aspects of life and surround myself with people who not only add value to my life but I add value to theirs. This for me is what my measurement of success is.

Alright guys, time to land and make my way to the Sunshine Coast with friends so until next time if you want more in depth thoughts on the above, tune into ThinkFit episode 21 and give me your thoughts, you can click the image below to download on iTunes.

Robo

Kia Ora guys!

Just a quick update for you,

I am finally based back in Palmerston North after 16 months living in the Waikato and five months of living out of a suitcase, so as you would expect it is an amazing feeling to have my clothes in a wardrobe and call one place home.

As discussed in my last blog post “My Five Week Challenge” and on our @ThinkFitPod podcast I have set myself a five week goal to get back into my training routine and be aware of my portion sizes to drop six kg’s in 5 weeks and with IM 70.3 Sunshine Coast now only 1 training weekend away its going to be a tough one!

Weight update

Monday morning when I started I was 85.2kg and Monday morning three weeks later I am 81kg which I’m pretty happy about. What has been the main difference is my preparation for meals the night before for work, packing healthy snacks (Carrots, celery etc.) to take the “edge” off any cravings that I get throughout the day or making a healthy jar of oats. And even better, whenever I grt asked if I want a piece of cake or lollies it is easy to say no because I am reminded of what I am trying to achieve.

Training overview

Ive had a few busy weeks of training and building back up, but battling a flu has been tough to keep training through, but with my race only around the corner I am excited to race to help get my mojo back but most importantly I am excited to have a racing holiday 😊🎉

Below is an overview of training this week and you might think I'm crazy for ramping up the Kim's into a race but, I'm treating it as a training weekend with a January as the focus 👊🏽

Kia Ora guys,

So with five weeks until Sunshine Coast 70.3 I have a challenge for myself. Last weekend I weighed in at 85kg's, this is a bit of a shock to me as my race weight is usually 74 and looking back at the last month (when I weighed in at 79kg) it makes sense.

With all the moving in the last month I have done on average only 6 hours training each week however, without thinking I didn't adjust my eating volumes or so, as simple as it is with calories in vs calories out, even for only four weeks this can only mean one thing, an increase of weight.

So, as I am sitting on a flight to Adelaide for a week long conference I am faced with a reality check to make smart choices, this is so that come the 13th of September I am at least 79kg to race hard but have fun.

It's a good reality check, (as Tim Ford said recently with his nutritionist Chole on our ThinkFitPod podcast) as your training changes you do need to be aware of what volume you are eating. I've been lucky for the last 14 months when I got back into the sport because I haven't had to worry too much with 16-20 hours a week.

So, here we go! Over the next five weeks I'm going to share my journey with you to;

1. Bring the importance of reviewing your diet as your training/lifestyle changes

2. Show you that with a few small tweaks and a few weeks of dedication you can turn it around.

So keep tuned in, we got this ;-)

Robo

Kia Ora guys!
 
If you are not aware my buddy Tim Ford and I are now 15 Episodes in on our podcast journey and man are they flying by! We have shared stories from where we have come from and how we got to where we are today, although we do not reap perfection nor do we do everything right we attempt to simplify and motivate our listeners by sharing our stories of ups and downs.
 
Think Fit Episode one was titled: Introducing Think Fit welcomed our listeners to Think Fit, a podcast hosted by Tim & I, two guys who have lost a combined weight of nearly 100kgs! On our first episode we wanted to give a brief introduction to ourselves outlining why we put on weight, when we realised we needed to make a healthy change and how we lost our weight. We outlined our plans for how the show will be structured, the weight loss and fitness topics we want to discuss and open up to our listeners to chip in.
 
Throughout the show you will hear us say “we aren't experts” but, we want to try and cut through all the confusion and mixed messages to make people realise that it doesn't have to be hard to lose weight. We also want to inform people about weight loss based on our own experiences.
 
We share weight loss tips and advice in a fun and lighthearted way. Let's make weight loss fun and fitness easy to understand while entertaining our listeners to Think Fit!
 
As mentioned, we began this journey to hopefully simplify the process of getting started but ultimately, motivate those who need that extra push to know they need to stick at it and thankfully although we’re not experts but are two very social individuals and together with friends we happen to know a few experts who host the od podcast with us to shed light on their journey.
 
So, if you would like to follow us you can do so by the below:

• itunes:                  Think Fit Pod on itunes
• Facebook:           https://www.facebook.com/thinkfitpod
• Instagram:          https://www.instagram.com/thinkfitpod
• Twitter:                https://twitter.com/thinkfitpod
• Email us:              thinkfitpod@gmail.com

Until next time… keep on thinking fit and tune in,

Robo :)

Kia ora guys!

Well it has been almost two months since I have written our national greeting “Kia ora” which is hello in Maori our native language encase you didn’t know, so…. Where art thou? I am here, well obviously I haven’t posted in a while but with a bit of motivation, inspiration and something I don’t have a lot of lately TIME I am ready to update you on where I am at.

Now without boring you too much between working, purchasing my first house, moving two to three times from house to house while I plan to make the move back to Palmerston North, trying to fit in training in between and we are now recording our 12th episode of @thinkFitPod I have to be honest it has been difficult to try and balance everything and with that I have had to make sacrifices.

So when making the choice of what to sacrifice came about it was not an easy choice, but when it came to time and money being a big constraint the first thing I needed to review was my holiday and triathlon spend.

Typically I budget around 10k for travel/holidays and 10k for triathlon throughout the year, this is to cover travel expense while away and triathlon is to cover events, coaching, gym membership, nutrition, training, race gear and events. What I had to do when reviewing finances was consolidate travel and triathlons reducing my expense by 10k which does not leave a lot to play with.

Then when reviewing time I found that because I cannot get sessions done that my coach had planned for me it was getting me down so, when weighing up the above I made the decision to do only two 70.3 events in the next 12 months and unfortunately after a year of consistent training with my coach Simon Cochrane’s who took me from a 5 hour half ironman to a 4.10 hour athlete I have had to part ways for now and self-coach using last season’s coaching as a standard.
​
As you can see in the below, since Ironman in March I have had seen attempts at getting back into training

This is how disruptive my life has been lately, and don’t get me wrong I am in no way complaining it’s just that my priorities have changed for the time being and with it I am prepared for sub-par result comparing against my last season however, despite my fitness I will still be going out there to kick my own butt because no matter what fitness level you are at and you race to your max…. it still hurts no matter what which is the feeling I love!

Untill next time, keep on Thinking Fit ;-)

Robo

​Kia ora team,

Who else at the moment is questioning where this year has gone? We are already half way through May and I am reminded my 30th birthday is now only three months away and is quickly followed by Sunshine Coast 70.3 which I am beginning to build up to now.
​
As I begin to get back into the routine of training again I am reminded of the strain that this has on the body but more importantly, because I have a Fitbit which reads my heart rate and sleep data 24/7 it has highlighted the stress a race like IRONMAN has on my body.

Resting Heart Rate

Day-to-day, it can be tough to tell if the hard work on your health is paying off. Resting heart rate can be a great indicator of the changes to cardiovascular health, so you can see if you’re improving over time. To read why resting heart rate matters Click Here

As per the below image you can see that since my race in March my heart rate instantly started to climb over three days from 50 to 59 average beats per minute and in March, April and May I have fluctuated from 50 to 59 with a monthly average of 54-55 which is 8-10 beats average higher than my September to December average which I am still attempting to understand wither it is still the strain on my body or the current state of my fitness after a few months off which I can easily keep and eye on.

Sleep Tracking

Sleep affects every part of life—your health, your mood and more. It can help you perform at your best, stay productive, and fight weight gain and depression. So if you’re ready to make the most of your day, start by improving your night.

I am pretty happy with my consistency of sleep and this has not altered much from when I was in my biggest block leading up to IRONMAN in February and now, but what I have found very interesting with a recent Fitbit update is that now you can see the different zones of sleep you are in ….Click here for more information

I’ve been made aware there is apps available tat can pull your training information from training peaks etc. and also sleep and heart rate data then puts it in a graph which is a simplistic way to keep an eye on your fatigue levels.

The benefits of this can be, if you have a key training session and you can see your fatigue levels will impact your ability to do a quality session it may highlight that you may need to push this out a day, or discuss this with your coach. So you know training peaks actually has the ability for you to put in your actual fatigue levels in so your coach has this in front of him/her as coaching is a two way streak and very important so you are not burnt out.

I feel this is important because I have been taught to train quality over quantity where I had the term make the easy, EASY and the hard, HARD drilled into me and to do this sometimes you need to feel a bit fresher.

Other Benefits

From my perspective, other benefits of a device like a Fitbit outside of heart rate and sleep data and looking the part in my day to day, work life;

• Tracking of workouts and data analysis
• Smart notifications; Call, TXT and Email notifications which come in handy during meetings and social occasions.
• A choice of products available to suit your lifestyle wither it is the Fitbit surge which has GPS tracking, Fitbit Blaze which is my preference for in all occasions or the Fitbit HR
• Step tracker; You can also follow your friends in the FitBit app and challenge each other on who can do the most steps in day.
• Silent alarm which vibrates you wake rather than music which I have found as a better way to get me up in the morning, even at 4,30am

So if any of the above information sounds like interesting data like me, you feel it will add value to your training I say have a look at www.fitbit.com and see what is right for you.

Until next time, train hard, train smart and…. ThinkFit! – Yup that’s a podcast hint, five episodes down and we have had thousands of downloads so, thank you to our listeners!

Robo