A Bit Of A Boost George Anderson

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
 
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
 
My guest on today’s podcast is author of the book The Curveball, Colby Sharma.  
 
Colby shares his own personal story of growing up and having to overcome adversity, and how this experience lead him on the path not only succeed in his education and a career in law, but ultimately to become a real motivator and expert in resilience.
 
During the course of our conversation we get into the 4 central messages in his book, and what I love about the way Colby describes them is the way he makes them so practical.
 
It’s very easy to think of resilience as quite an abstract quality, that we maybe know we should have more of or be better at, but how exactly do we do that?
 
We talk about breaking big challenges down into manageable steps, how to get better at controlling our response to difficult situations, prioritising the rituals that lead to our best performance and building a team around us that can support us through anything.
 
We both end up sharing personal experiences through the course of our conversation, and some interesting insights came through for me right here within the interview which was a reminder in case I needed it that we are all always learning.
 
Colby's book 'The Curveball' is available from Amazon:
https://amzn.eu/d/2xPW83L
 
Connect with Colby on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/colbysharma
 

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
 
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
 
Today we discuss strengths... not the 'strengths and weaknesses' where you should 'work on your weaknesses to turn them into your strengths', but the elements of your character that you may or not already be aware of are something of a super power.
 
I talk a lot about strengths with my clients and in presentations, and there's a free tool you can use to identify your top 5 'Signature Strengths'.
 
If you head over to https://viacharacter.org you can take the free survey and I encourage you to do so (after listening to today's episode of course!)
 
The 24 Character Strengths are grouped into 6 categories:
 
Wisdom
1) Creativity
2) Curiosity
3) Open-mindedness
4) Love of learning
5) Perspective
Courage
6) Honesty
7) Bravery
8) Persistence
9) Zest
Humanity
10) Kindness
11) Love
12) Social intelligence
Justice
13) Fairness
14) Leadership
15) Teamwork
Temperance
16) Forgiveness
17) Humility
18) Prudence
19) Self-regulation
Transcendence
20) Appreciation of beauty
21) Gratitude
22) Hope
23) Humor
24) Spirituality
 
We all have all of these strengths, but some come more naturally to us than others and it's the top 5 that we're really interested in.
 
If you can find ways to harness and use these strengths more, you can elevate your wellbeing, performance and impact in almost any aspect of your life.
 

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
 
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
 
I came across some research recently about the impact of open water swimming on menopause symptoms, and was delighted when the study author Professor Joyce Harper accepted my invitation to join me on the podcast to discuss it.
 
Having had an overwhelmingly positive response to a previous episode on menopause with Catherine O’Keeffe I know this is a topic that many of you are interested in so I was excited to get into the topic again.
 
Joyce Harper is an award winning Professor of Reproductive Science at the Institute for Women’s Health, University College London.
 
She has worked in the fields of fertility, genetics, reproductive health and women’s health for over 30 years, is author of the book ‘Your Fertile Years’ and host of the ‘Why didn’t anyone tell me this?’ podcast.
 
You can find out more about Joyce and her work at joyceharper.com
 
Purchase a copy of Your Fertile Years on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/152935627X
 
Listen to Why Didn’t Anyone Tell Me This on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Etr1ygKlT7aLgrW4B0fyg
 
Link to research and Joyce Harper’s academic profile: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2024/jan/cold-water-swimming-improves-menopause-symptoms

I was fortunate enough to attend the recent World Happiness Summit (WOHASU) in London a couple of weeks ago and wanted to share a couple of takeaways from the event along with some more general observations about what comes up when I ask the question 'what does happiness mean to you?'
 
The strapline of the conference was 'Wellbeing is the Purpose' which gives a clue about at least one of the dimensions, but what does this really mean and how important is it that we find our purpose?
 
That's one topic that I get into in today's episode, along with the 2 different timescales that we can think about happiness in - short term moment by moment 'positive affect' happiness, and longer term life satisfaction.
 
Hopefully today's episode all about happiness will give you a bit of a boost!

Hello and welcome to A Bit Of A Boost with me, George Anderson
 
I’m a wellbeing and performance coach, speaker and author and this podcast brings together guest experts, inspirational stories and ideas that I hope will you a bit of a boost.
 
There's a 'mild to moderate controversy warning' for today’s episode, as we get into the topic of stretching… not ‘the best ways to stretch’, but exploring the question ‘should we be stretching at all?’
 
As trainers we're taught the importance of stretching as part of a warm up routine to help avoid injury and to enhance the performance of your body during the workout.
 
Then at the end it’s essential to stretch the muscles to return them to their original length, reducing muscle soreness and tightness the next day.
 
Then of course it’s important to include developmental stretches in your routine so you can increase your joint range of motion and maintain flexibility through your life.
 
My guest today is Ryan Phillips, a personal trainer and Muscle Activation Technique (MAT) expert and in 2008 we sat side by side in our very first seminar on MAT at a fitness convention where we learned that maybe all wasn’t as it seemed with these so-called ‘rules’ about stretching.
 
For me it was interesting, for Ryan it was the start of a long journey into his education in MAT, and a successful practice that he now combines with personal training.
 
In our conversation today we start off by talking about some of the changes we’ve both seen in the fitness industry over the last 2 decades, and get into a topic I find fascinating which is why some people are ‘low responders’ to different types of exercise.
 
If you’ve ever wondered why some people get far better results than others despite doing the exact same training, this will give you some interesting insights!
 
And then we really get into MAT, what it is and even some simple ways you can start applying the principles today.
 
We discuss why, if stretching is so ineffective - or even BAD for us - it can feel so good?
 
Ryan explains what’s actually happening to our muscles and joints when we stretch, and the role the nervous system has to play in muscle tightness.
 
Ryan is a true master of the work that he does and his Instagram page @muscleactivation is packed with education, case studies and tip to help you move better, get stronger and reduce injuries.
 
Have a go at some of the exercises and movements that Ryan suggests during our interview, and notice what a difference it makes. 
 
As well as Instagram, you can connect with Ryan and find out more about his 'Get Activated™️ Programme of Isometrics' on his website:
https://www.phillips-fit-brighton.co.uk/get-activated
 
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Some of the research that Ryan mentioned in our interview is listed here:
 
Stretching myth 1 - stretching improves your sporting performance:
 
A 60 second stretch before a vertical jump test reduced performance (jump height) by 3.4%
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24936897
 
Static stretching before running slowed down the initial 100m pace and jump height was reduced by over 9%
 
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24905918
http://img2.timg.co.il/forums/1_150249330.pdf
https://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/Chronic_Effects_of_Static_and_Dynamic_Stretching.94938.aspx
 
 
Stretching myth 2 - stretching helps to prevent injuries:
 
A meta analysis of 60 different randomized control trials showed that stretching had no benefit to injury prevention what so ever.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24370993
 
 
Stretching myth 3 - stretching before/after exercise reduces muscle soreness:
 
No significant reductions in DOMS by stretching before/after exercise.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21735398
 
 
Stretching myth 4 - stretching increases range of motion in people with limited mobility due to con

Despite change being an inevitable part of life, it can cause quite a headache when it comes at us and feels like it's happening TO us.
 
I've covered this topic a few times on the podcast and many of my guests have mentioned it also, so today we're going to look at some of the reasons behind why it can be such a struggle, and 5 self-coaching questions to ask to help you feel more confident as you work through it.