Reps And The Rest Weekly Blog

Aviation Fuel for Motivation

Joonas

During times of uncertainty many struggle with direction in training. Redirecting our focus on to a majestic goal can be like throwing aviation fuel to a nearly extinguished training fire. Choose a challenging end goal This should feel slightly unreachable, but not utopistic. Think climbing the Everest base camp vs jogging across Sahara without stopping for a pee. A goal that spikes you with nervous energy. Something that excites you about what’s possible when you really try. Think about something…

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One To Rule Them All

Joonas

When improving our health and wellbeing we can get sucked in the vortex of trialling different easy-to-implement habits. Less snacking, cut down alcohol, avoid the foods that grow on red desert sand, or removing carbs because: “That guy on Instagram said so and, see, how lean is he?! I think I can see the outlines of his kidney.*” Often we bounce from one habit to the next with no progress. Frustration boils over and we heave arrows of blame at…

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The Tax On Chasing High Performance

Joonas

The greatest athletes at the peak of their careers are not necessarily healthier than an average punter. In fact, they might even be worse off because of the toll their sport is taking on the body. Leaning too heavily on performance will have a negative effect on health. And there’s a tax the high level athlete will eventually have to pay for their success. Similarly, the most aesthetics pleasing body is not always the healthiest. A six pack is not…

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What Kids Can Teach You About Movement

Joonas

On our daily walks with our son, I often have to lure him to keep moving forward. With a combination of “there might be a digger around the corner“, “maybe we can see a motorbike or a blue bus“, or “let’s go and see if the puppy is there today.”* We also make the walk about collecting leaves and the fuzzy dandelion seed “flowers” which keeps him going for a good while. And I get it, for a two-year-old walking…

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Noticing

Joonas

The purpose of training our body at the gym is not to become better at training at the gym. No, we train so we can live a better, more fulfilling life outside of that space of bright lights and soulless pop music. Similarly, the reason for meditating is not just to get better at being present during the daily 10 minutes of practise. The reason we do it is to have the benefits of the practise spill into the rest…

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Why I Rarely Use Barbells

Joonas

The gym-less self-isolation training hasn’t been a challenge for most of my clients. Not because any of them have proper gym set ups at home. But because when we train at the gym it’s mostly with kettlebells, dumbbells, resistance bands and bodyweight. Stuff that’s easy enough to set up at home. Sure, there are some aspects we are now missing. Cable pulley system-machine-whatever-you-want-to-call-it, the power work with medicine balls, trapbar deadlifts and the access to landmine exercises. The last being…

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Stopping The Afternoon Snack

Joonas

Pay close attention to what happens before you reach for that snack. What is it that acts as a trigger? If you’ve eaten a proper lunch it’s probably not so much about hunger. But a deeply ingrained habit. Is it pouring (or ordering, for you high rollers) a cup of coffee? You mustered all your willpower to have just the coffee, but the action of filling your cup with steaming black magic sets off a cascade of habits to follow….

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The Problem of Outsourcing Our Health

Joonas

Let’s say we’ve always outsourced cooking. How much in a shit would we be if all the restaurants and food delivery services would have to go into a full lock down? Not just “we still do takeaway”, but “closed for business”. Or what if our partner who always does the cooking would get sick and couldn’t dish up our favourite potato bake? Would we have to resort to eating cold pea soup concentrate out of a can? To bite into…

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Objectivity for Contentment and Improvement

Joonas

Judgemental attitude is unproductive. Whether it’s judging ourselves and our actions, doing the same for other people, or for things and life circumstances in general. Judging our way forward doesn’t take us anywhere worth going. If anything, judging puts a negative spin on our day-to-day life. It can stop us from taking action. It’s almost like judgemental attitude gives us a ticket to bask in helplessness. To be the victim. The more productive alternative, not surprisingly, is much harder. Your…

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Sport Specific Strength Training Is Probably Not What You Think It Is

Joonas

Most athletes think that their sport requires a unique approach to strength training. And fancy marketing tailored for a specific sport often reinforces this. But once you peel off the layers of fluff you’ll see what is (or should be) in the core of any quality strength training program. Regardless of your sport, the basics of strength training and building overall athleticism apply. Strength training for all sports is made up of 90-100% of the same stuff. In the gym,…

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