I think we’ve all felt like this….
You’re stuck in a rut with your training.
You find it hard to get into a good routine.
You blame workload/family for missing sessions etc.
……Truth is I’ve been feeling like this lately.
And if your like me your the type of person who has the mindset of, if your going to do
something you’re gonna do it properly.
Overwhelm?
Added to all this ^^^ is overwhelm.
Overwhelm from the endless amount of information thrown at us everday through every media
outlet going..
Magazines,
T’V ads,
T.V shows,
The latest celebrity DVD
The latest fitness Class fad
etc etc etc
Add all this together & you end up doing nothing at all!
Like I said I’ve been suffering with this a bit myself.
People think as a PT I spend all my time training.
You couldn’t be more wrong!
I find it JUST as hard as anyone, I can assure you.
Solution 
The good news is I’ve stumbled upon a solution!
One that worked for me just this morning.
Here it is…
When things just get too much & you’re struggling with overwhelm, the BEST thing you can
do is go right back to basics.
Structure your workout so that a 4 year old can understand it.
==> Do this by reducing everything.
The reps
The sets
The amount of exercises.
The equipment.
The time.
Until you’re left with the absolute bare essentials for changing body composition.
(The moves that our ancestors could did for fun!)
My industry labels it as functional training.
I prefer the term Primal Training.
(its more relevant)
Primal training is performing everyday moves that simulate the cave man era many moons
ago.
In recent years Primal eating has been all the rage with the Paleo solution diet
But primal training is just as beneficial.
What I like about primal training is the simplicity.
All too often we complicate things.
Its so easy to get caught up with the lastest gym fads when all we really need to be able
to do is
Push
Pull
Lunge
Reach
Squat
Sprint
…among a few other things.
So if you’re feeling overwhelmed right now….STOP.
Go back to basics & follow my primal training method. (I’ll even share with you my Primal
Workout from this morning)
Three Steps to structuring your Primal Workout:
1. Pick 3-4 movements from the list above (max).
2. Choose exercises that simulate these movements. (e.g A Press Up is a pushing movement)
3. Set your clock 4. Go!
Repeat these 3-4 moves for 5-6 laps ..DONE
Here’s the primal workout I did this morning.
TRY IT!
It ONLY had 3 movements..
A Sprint. A Push & a Pull.
The goal by the end of the workout was to have completed
– 4 x 400m sprints (1 mile in sprints)
– 100 x press ups and
– 40 x Dead hang Pull Ups
…in the quickest time possible
So I broke down the workout like this..
1 x 400m Sprint
1 x 25 Press Ups
1 x 10 Pull Ups
Repeated x 4 laps. (NO REST PERIODS)
Took me just under 30 minutes due to struggling with the Deadhang Pull Ups but I think
I’ll shave a few minutes off that next time.
Beginners Modifications
Even though this is a simple workout its not easy! If your new to training these are the
changes I’d recommend.
1. Replace Pull Ups using a TRX or do Horizontal Rows. 2. Do your sprint on a X-Trainer of
Rower instead of treadmill 3. Add in a 60 second rest period after each lap
As you can see this is a VERY simple workout but trust me I was dripping with sweat by the
end!
If you do it let me know how you get on…
Matt