Daniel Remon B. HMSc.

Yes, it is that time again when most of you have decided to make some changes in life as part of your “New Years Resolutions”. These resolutions are normally related to our health. Stop smoking, start training, join a gym, get a personal trainer, lose weight, start eating healthier and so forth. According to a study conducted by GNC, 55% promised to eat healthier, 50% resolved to exercise more, and 38% wanted to lose weight.

Research shows that less than 20% actually stick to our new promises we make to ourselves, and for most, by February, we are back into the swing of old habits.

The internet is full of articles to help you overcome the same challenges you face every year. Resolutions themselves are the problem! So this year, I want to do something different.

Here we will offer you some inside tips to help you become that 20% and ensure your resolutions remain in tact and become achievements. Never again will you need to make these New Year resolutions.

From this point forward, they are known as your BSL. They are, or ‘were’ the Bull Sh** Lies that your previous self used to rely on for success. We all know, that these BSL’s quickly fade away by week 4 of the New Year. So, remember this; BSL’s are no longer an option. Non-existent. Nudda. Zilch. Zero.

Develop a Support System

Tell your friends and family about your goals and how you will achieve them. Better still, set some mutual goals with your friends and work together. Ask them to follow up with you on your progress from time to time to ensure you are on top of things. Join an awesome community of like minded, driven and ambitious people. This is the key to our success at Aspire, and this holds true for all areas of life. If you want to be successful in Business, surround yourself and learn from those who are already successful and form the image that you want to become. This is simple science at its best.

Visualise Your Desired Outcomes

Regardless of your goal, you must – and I will stress this point, you MUST visualise exactly what you want to achieve in life. Your ideal body, your ideal bank account balance and your ideal luxury vacation you’re going to take at the end of the year. Now the most important element in visualising is to attach the emotion and visualise how you ‘feel’ when you are your ideal shape in your dream destination on that dreamy beach. Just use the next 30 seconds to demonstrate how powerful this can be. Elite athletes and sports scientists have proven that visualisation techniques actually create neural impulses and responses to thinking and feeling successful performances. You are no different and can benefit from practicing the same techniques.

Form Rituals

Rituals are different from habits. For me, habits are too commonly associated with ‘bad habits’ which we know are easy to break and it is too easy to fall back into ‘old habits’. Habits are actions we perform and practice daily, both good and bad. Habits are words that we are familiar with, we are comfortable using and comfortable falling back into. By ‘changing our language’ and using different words, such as ‘rituals’ we engage in new experiences, new mind sets and great results. Rituals are spiritual and engaging actions which link both the physical and mental components to habits. By engaging the emotional feelings and your neural system, you create behavioural change and a shift in your subconscious which connects to your desired outcomes. It is your subconscious which directly affects your outcomes.

Ask Specific Questions

Asking frequent, strategic questions about your feelings, your opinions, outlooks, outcomes and desires is also fundamental to changing your behaviours for the long run. You can ask questions related to all your daily activities, goals and objectives on every topic related to health, family, business, wealth and success. If you are tempted to indulge in something that you probably shouldn’t, ask yourself “is this food going to help me towards my ideal body?” If the answer is no, then your decision is easy; Just Put It Down! Other questions you can ask yourself include: What’s my outcome? What benefit will (this particular action) have on my desired goal? Is feeling (enter a negative emotion) going to help me? Am I doing everything I can to achieve my goal? What can I do NOW to be better and get to my goals faster? You get the idea. Make sure you implement and practise this every day, not just today and drop it next week. Formulate your rituals!

Fuel for Energy

Start to use a different vocabulary when it comes to eating nutritiously. I could go on with all the magic pills and crash diets that exist, from Atkins, Paleo, Asian, low carb, high carb, low fat to Mediterranean as well as all the detox strategies out there. At the end of the day, you MUST change your mindset and focus on eating healthy, natural wholesome foods. Focus on ‘fuel’ – simply supplying your body with the energy it needs to perform optimally. For the majority of people, we know diets don’t work. Changing your eating habits does not constitute dieting. Some other tips to help you fuel efficiently include: eating slowly, eat proteins and vegetables, fast occasionally, eat only when you are hungry, be flexible, prepare as much food at home as possible, plan your meals, eat out less and lastly, ENJOY eating healthy, nutritious foods.

Only Use Positive Language

As a results coach, personal trainer & wellness coach, this has to be one of my all time favourite, and most powerful rituals for both myself and for my clients. Eliminating negative language is such a powerful ritual to engage in. Words like ‘can’t’, ‘cannot’, ‘shouldn’t’, ‘won’t’, ‘try’, ‘maybe’, ‘should have’, ‘might’ and ‘but’ are no longer in use. This helps you focus on the more empowering language such as I MUST, I WILL, I CAN. These also trigger positive emotions which aids the success process. Using these empowering terms helps you to be specific with your decision making processes. Achieving absolute clarity in everything you set your mind to and everything you aspire to achieve in your life. Affirmations are also another powerfully effective tool. I have used affirmations very successfully with many clients and with myself.

Get Professional Assistance

Employ the services of a professional. Find a personal trainer or coach who can devise the most appropriate exercise and nutrition program for you – which you enjoy and can make a part of your lifestyle. They will help you stay on track and help you work through the tough times with strategies for every challenge. If you have worked with personal trainers in the past and had exciting results, for this year consider taking that to the next level and find a Success Coach. A success coach will help to tie in all your goals in life, inspire you and guide you towards the ultimate results and achievements that you could every dream possible.

No doubt you noticed a very distinct difference in the success of your goals. These are known to a rare few, and it is my objective to help as many people as possible, lose the BSL’s, get focused, take action and achieve their ultimate lifestyle through health, energy and success that can inspire others to achieve the same.

Daniel Remon is the Founder and CEO of Fitcorp Global – An international performance coaching company based in Bangkok, Thailand and visionary behind the ‘Aspire Club’, which has created the ultimate team of personal trainers in Bangkok and the only result driven performance facility in Asia. You can learn more at www.theaspireclub.com and www.fitcorpasia.com.

Fitcorp Asia launches the First CrossFit Affiliate in Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand – November 1st, 2012

Fitcorp Asia, Thailand’s leading private health, fitness and performance education company launches the first CrossFit Affiliate in Bangkok, Thailand.

Since 2000, CrossFit has been steadily growing in popularity across the United States. Building a strong community of driven, focused men, women and children of all ages and inspiring them to higher levels of motivation, health and personal development.

Fitcorp Asia has been an innovator of the Thailand fitness industry since 2003 with cutting edge and result driven programs for individuals, the community and corporate sector. The company now runs 5 major businesses under its corporate brand.

Daniel Remon, the CEO and founder of Fitcorp Asia said

“For us, introducing CrossFit to Bangkok is an expansion of our current methodology. Building a strong dynamic community of like minded, driven individuals is a cornerstone to our ethos and business success.”

CrossFit is deemed the ‘sport of fitness’ – taking a recreational and recommended activity to the realm of sports, community and competition. That competitive element is focused on the competition of one’s self, as well as with others. This adds accountability, support, structure, adherence and therefore a change of behaviours, lifestyle and results for the long term. CrossFitters aspire to be the best they can be, and that’s what makes the difference.

Far from being exclusive to elite athletes, CrossFit BK trains all members, regardless of skill or fitness level, to become as fit as possible, using tested means of general physical preparedness. Their goal: to be physically and mentally prepared for the known and unknown.

Far from being exclusive to elite athletes, CrossFit BK trains all members, regardless of skill or fitness level, to become as fit as possible, using tested means of general physical preparedness.  Their goal: to be physically and mentally prepared for the known and unknown.

On July 15 I finished the Pattaya Marathon 2012 barefoot in 5 hrs and 15 min.

Even though I had never run a full 42.2K without shoes I was confident I could complete the race in Pattaya. As long as the hills weren’t too steep and the ground wasn’t too rough since running downhill adds to the impact forces placed on the body.

During the marathon I felt good the whole way, kept a nice steady pace and with the support from friends and fellow runners my only goal really was to complete the race. Time wasn’t a priority and that made the whole experience more pleasant.

I find running barefoot downhill being most taxing for the ankles and the lower body in general (this theory is also supported by research). I did a 10K race barefoot earlier this year (in Hua Hin) that had some brutally steep hills to climb and that left my foot soles and calf’s tender the day after.

When I run barefoot I often get the question if it hurts and what if I step on something sharp. In response to that I say that my eyes guide me away from most sharp objects on the ground and as long as I’m not running on rocks or gravel the ground is most of the times very forgiving. This is thanks to the barefoot technique I’ve developed that allows me to run “soft and light” and minimize friction and ground contact time by running without protection on my feet (shoes). The technique of effective barefoot running is definitely a skill (and that doesn’t always come naturally).

I would say there is a difference between running barefoot and with minimalistic shoes. With my fivefingers I can still be sloppy with my foot strikes and get away with it, at least for the moment. The foot placement when running barefoot has to be precise in order to avoid over striding and spending that split second extra on the ground, landing in front of the hips and not underneath the center of mass (hips).

After completing the Pattaya Marathon I felt fine considering the circumstances. I didn’t feeling any soreness or fatigue and had no problems to get along with my day, quite surprising considering I had taken about 50.000 steps with forces around twice my bodyweight for every step (total load of 4 million kg/leg). The day after the run I was a bit stiff in my knees waking up although that disappeared shortly after I started and move around. In summary, the after matches from the run were mild. One of the reasons why I run barefoot is to stay away from injuries. I believe the running mechanics from learning to run barefoot can help me achieve that and so far so good. The problem with running related injuries is that they occur over time (chronic injuries) due to repetitive stress to tissues and bones. When you feel the injury symptoms it’s often already too late.

In summary; with no sore legs, no blisters on my feet or any other complications that to me is a receipt for a well prepared body and a well paced race. Personally, long slow distance (LSD) activity is a very small part of my regular training. Occasionally I challenge my body and mind with long distance events for variety but I prefer to spend most of my time doing intervals and strength training. Like mentioned, barefoot running has attracted me not only for skill acquisition and learning something new but also for the added experience it brings, the mind-body connection and the claimed benefits of being easier on the body than shod running (running with shoes).

For the future, I will continue to enjoy running barefoot and I will most likely complete another Marathon barefoot as well. Pattaya Marathon barefoot was a great experience and like all other running events it’s the people, friends and atmosphere that makes it all worthwhile. I’m already looking forward to do it again next year.

Would you like to learn more about how to prepare for a barefoot run? Visit Aspire or call 08-76 72 74 52 for more information on how you can integrate barefoot running in to your training.

“If you run you are a runner. It doesn’t matter how fast or how far. It doesn’t matter if today is your first day or if you’ve been running for twenty years. There’s no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run”. – John Bingham

That description definitely fits to me and many others and now I can even call myself a “barefoot runner”, with no more meaning then the fact that I run and that I sometimes do it barefoot.

About two months ago, after years of minimalistic running (fivefinger shoes) and months of barefoot running I decided to run my first barefoot Marathon and on July 15^th 2012 I successfully finished Pattaya Marathon (in 5 hours, 15 min…)

The preparation to successfully complete a Marathon can’t be taken light hearted and yet alone running a marathon without shoes. When I started to run barefoot about 8 months ago I first struggled with blisters on the soles of my feet by friction created from striking the ground. First months I didn’t run more than 3K/run barefoot and used fivefingers to cross-train and integrate barefoot in to my runs to practice technique and conditioning.

My switch from running shoes to fivefingers came after studying running techniques (Pose running, Chi running, etc) and the theories that minimalistic running is safer on your body. I started using fivefingers just before my first Marathon (Stockholm Marathon 2011) but was far from conditioned to even attempt that race with anything else than a traditional running shoe.

As the distance of my fivefinger runs increased I became more and more tempted to run barefoot and started a training plan about 8 months ago to gradually increase the distance and volume of my barefoot runs. After about 3 months of a weekly barefoot run I reached a point where blisters weren’t a problem anymore. Thanks to my history of everyday wear and use of fivefingers the conditioning of my feet and lower limbs were pretty much already taken care of to handle the transition to barefoot well.

The most important factor to be aware of when running minimalistic or barefoot is to allow your muscles, ligaments and joints to condition to a new form of stress. Overuse injuries is a relatively common problem experienced when making changes to running technique so a plan is needed and preferably a running coach too for feedback.

With a solid training background, experience and understanding of biomechanics when running I felt confident I could complete a full 42.2K (Marathon) barefoot. At the same time it was enough of a challenge for me to get me excited about running long distance again.

In the next post I will write more about the Pattaya Marathon itself and some tips and advice to think about when running long distance barefoot.

Would you like to learn more about how to prepare for a barefoot run? Visit Aspire or call 08-76 72 74 52 for more information on how you can integrate barefoot running in to your training.

Reading the previous blog posts on reasons why to run barefoot you can see that my major reasons for running barefoot are not focused on performance to improve time and shave seconds off my personal best.

For me, running barefoot has a more holistic mind-body connection than shod running, giving perspective and feedback on a much greater level than in running with shoes.

So where does the mind and body connection fit in with barefoot running? To me, barefoot running can work as great self-therapy to wind down, turn off the internal monologue and live in the present.

As you float over the ground surface without shoes and pick the best runnig line possible you are totally engaged in the activity of running and focused on the next steps ahead. Without cushioned shoes to absorb impact you are constantly being reminded on form, technique and posture while running barefoot, working as a silent coach giving you valuable info about your running technique.

Go barefoot/primal/minimalistic – ditch the mp3 player, GPS watch and heart rate monitor and connect with the moment of now as you change support underneath your center of mass over and over again in the beautiful and effortless display of human locomotion of barefoot running. Running barefoot can work miracles on a busy mind and allowing you to enjoy the moment and live in the present.

That’s just another great benefit and reason to run barefoot. Interested in learning more?

Visit Aspire or call 08-76 72 74 52 for more information on how you can integrate barefoot running in to your life.

Running barefoot is unarguably an experience more intense than shod running. The feedback from your feet is a lot greater without a layer of protection between you and earth as the soles of your feet is have thousands of nerve endings and is the second most nerve dense part of your body after the tongue.

With this in mind, it’s an interesting thought that barefoot running also works as a form of reflexology and zone therapy to the rest of the body. If you have any belief in reflexology, you can easily see that running barefoot will have an impact on the claimed benefits of reflexology and system of mapped out zones in our feet that when stimulated by pressure will create a response in specific areas in the rest of our bodies and that such stimulus would create effects and a physical change in specific organs and zones.

This is an interesting view why barefoot running is good for you. No matter if the positive effect of reflexology is scientifically proven or not, running barefoot to some degree is worth trying for almost anyone interested in a healthy, strong and injury free body.

Would you like to give barefoot running a try?

Visit Aspire or call 08-76 72 74 52 for more information on how you can integrate barefoot running in to your training and life.

The experts are far from agreeing that running barefoot reduces injuries in long distance runners. With this said , there is still lots of grounds to support that barefoot running reduces the risk of some injuries that are common in the running society. This is mainly due to the fact that running without shoes encourages a change in running technique and thereby redistributes or lessens the impact forces from striking the ground when running.

My own anecdotal findings from running barefoot are less direct stress on knee and ankle joints but with an increased demand on soft tissues such as Achilles, calfs and sole of the foot (the skin as well as plantar fascia). With a progressive build up of distance over time I have managed to get rid of complications and pain associated with running barefoot. In addition I have experienced a lot less post swelling, discomfort or pain in knees and ankles and I link that to new running mechanics as a barefoot runner.

The theory behind injury free barefoot running is mainly that peak impact forces when the foot strikes the ground are less when running barefoot compared to shod running. The impact forces on the body have shown to be less mainly due to a more effective spring mechanics in the lower body, soft tissues absorbing the forces rather than bones and joints in ankles, knees, hips and spine.

In summary, barefoot running is not a miracle solution to all injuries associated with running. It’s important to always look at individual needs and circumstances if barefoot running is appropriate to engage in. With that said, no one can argue that it’s interesting that running barefoot can be a strategy to reduce and perhaps even solve injury problems associated with running. That all the technology we have on hand can be solved by starting with something as easy as kicking off your shoes…

Are you suffering from pain or injuries when running?

Visit www.theaspireclub.com for more information on how you can integrate barefoot running in to your training and life.