Adventures of Lifemoves' Founder | Alfred Ball's Blog
Entrepreneur | Kinesiologist | Author | Presenter
|
|
|
|
|
In October 2000, I started my first job in health and fitness after graduating from university as a Kinesiologist. This was after being rejected from several rehabilitation schools and being told to get more rehabilitation experience (even though I had volunteered at several physiotherapy clinics and a prosthetics clinic for the prior three years). Dejected, I decided to get into personal training with a focus on rehabilitation.
At that time I really didn't have a second career path planned. It was over the next three years that I gave control to various opportunities that took me in several directions including group fitness and group fitness management with the rehabilitation specialization on the side. I didn't have a plan of how I was going open my own rehab clinic within a gym; I certainly didn't put any major focus on it apart from a few management/business courses here and there while collecting various resources from conferences.
It was in 2004, when I transferred to the North Vancouver Steve Nash Fitness World because they opened Personal Training, Pilates Reformer and Spinning Studios, that I took control of my career and started on the path towards Lifemoves.
From the beginning, I expressed my desired destination: a rehabilitation program at Fitness World. Over the next two years I became known as the go-to trainer for any clients who needed rehabilitation. I kept a generalized working plan in my head, but didn't write anything outside of my brain until 2006.
The subconscious is amazing! Without consciously thinking about my goal, opportunities and actions came about that gradually propelled me toward it's fruition. In 2007, when I reflected on my 2006 plan, I saw that it clearly expressed my goal of having a clinic within a year.
From April to June 2007, I wrote a business plan and figured out some of the details of my vision. I proposed it to Fitness World and, after a few months of negotiations, we agreed to make the transition in September.
The business plan is a general plan that gives you an idea of how you are going to become successful and how/when you are going to make a profit. The strategic plan sets out the direction and destination of the company, while the annual plan gives an account of what actions are to be taken on quarterly, monthly and weekly bases.
This same plan and action process is what high performance athletes use to reach their goals of winning world championships and Olympic Gold Medals. Each training session they complete has one or two major objectives -- one action or one step that takes them closer to their goal.
Four Steps to Success: - Decide Your Destination
- Set a Path/Create a Plan - Get as detailed as you want (even down to the day)
- Decide on the Next Action from #2, then Take Action
- Repeat #3, based on #2, with #1 always in mind
Remember, you can make the greatest travel plans, but if you don't take action (e.g., book the plane ticket) you are not going on your vacation. Without action you will sit staring at this screen.
Maybe your next action is deciding on your destination. If you know this, then write down a plan by starting with what you know. Please share what you are going to do next to achieve your own success.
Other Seeking the Peak Posts Labels: Entrepreneur, Excellence, Seek the Peak, Standards
As we aim for our peak performance or being the best at something, many of us get wrapped up in comparing ourselves to others. But, when it comes down to race day or the day we are making an important presentation, we can only manage what is under our control.
This is a lesson I learned competing in Biathlon. Each competitor trains for months and then prepares in his own way on race day. Whether or not we end up in first, second or last really is not up to us. What we can do is go out and set ourselves up to do our personal best.
I clearly remember my strategy during the B.C. Winter Games in Comox, where I won two golds and one silver. It was to "race my own race." This was still about pushing myself and wanting to be the best, but the focus was more on my own performance. I knew that my training and pre-race preparation were both excellent, as was my confidence in my abilities.
During most of the race I saw a competitor a head of me, but not once did I decide that "I had to catch him." I could see that I was gradually reeling him in and eventually I passed him. I think that if I had switched my strategy, I would have exhausted myself trying to catch him instead of having my best race.
With Seek the Peak in July and the Grouse Mountain Run in September, I am aware of what my top physical condition was before I retired from Biathlon and what the top times are in my category. On race day, if I am fitter than I was when I competed in Biathlon and I reach my own performance goals of under 2 hours for Seek the Peak and 31:00 minutes for the BMO Grouse Mountain Run, I will have succeeded; placement is secondary.
Through years of various competitions including the Vancouver Marathon, and in my decade as a Kinesiologist, I have always defined my successes by asking, "Did I do everything I could? Was this my best performance?" Please leave a comment and let me know how you run your own race.
Previous Seeking the Peak Posts:
Looking for more confidence?:
Labels: biathlon, confidence, Events, Seek the Peak, Standards
All right. We are closing in on the middle of week 3 of my training for "Seek the Peak" on July 4, 2010. The journey thus far has not been easy. I am still in recovery from my Olympic experience and am integrating back into a more regular work schedule. Prior to the Olympics I was seeing clients six days a week, with little time to train or put into business development. This was meant to make up for the time I'd be away from clients during the two-week break for the Olympics. I also booked appointments from 10 AM to 4 PM on days between my shifts at Whistler Olympic Park. This schedule was wearing me out and making me less motivated to attend to clients, my needs, the needs of my family and the needs of my business. It also put Lifemoves on something similar to a simmer, where we were content do things "as is" because it was working. This was opposite of the standards I put forward in my head. A part of physical training that is often forgotten is regeneration. If you forget about recovery and taking breaks, you will end up burning out in business or over-training. Some of the symptoms are general malaise, lack of appetite and lack of motivation. Coming back on March 1, I felt that my time was in as high demand as it was in January. I had several new clients and not much time to get them integrated or to take care of our current clients. Getting into a depressive state is something I am highly aware of, so I know when to use strategies to turn those moods around. After the excitement and energy burn of the Olympics, along with working 6-7 days per week, I found that I felt general malaise, I was unmotivated, I was paying less attention to detail and was not delivering what I was capable of. This required a big shift in scheduling and my use of energy. I now think more in terms of energy management rather than time management and I incorporate regeneration strategies. I could feel myself slowly starting to slip into a possible depressive episode. I knew this had to change so, at the beginning of March, I set a goal of racing Seek the Peak in July. I altered my work schedule and took greater control of my sleep cycles. Part of what I discovered and am now paying close attention to, is how much energy I have and the maximum work loads I can handle before I need a break. I am in control of my schedule and my commitments. I can say no as easily as I can say yes. Moving forward from April, I am looking at the number of hours I work on a daily basis as well as my total during the week (In athletic training, this is called Total Volume). Carl Pederson, Physiotherapist, once said in a workshop to "incorporate recovery" every day; this includes physical, mental, emotional and nutritional recovery. I started the past few weeks with physical recovery, e.g., stretching, light cardio and getting the proper amount of sleep. Tuesdays and Thursdays are long, full days with clients, so I train with light cardio, such as walking and stretching. The other five days of training are more intense and every four weeks I take a recovery week with less volume and less intensity. Every eight weeks I am also adding a massage. This week, I am working on my nutritional recovery strategies which I will cover in another post. When considering emotional recovery, think about investing time in family and friends, reading a book or perhaps doing something spiritual. I am finding that doing something physical that I enjoy also connects me with my emotional recharging. After each bout of training, I feel invigorated, happy and proud that I accomplished one more training session. Remember, take time to add recovery to every day. Take breaks away from work, turn off your phone/Blackberry. Get off the grid for a little while. Have a nutritious, mindful snack. Manage and treat your body properly and it will perform at its peak. Labels: burn-out, recovery, regeneration, Seek the Peak
The Vancouver 2010 Olympics and Paralympics relight the fire and energy I had as an athlete competing in Biathlon. As an Anti-Doping Chaperone, I had the opportunity to be on the field of play, in athlete areas and surrounded by world-class athletes. This experience also reminded me of the sights, sounds and smells of competing in Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing. Ole Einer Bjoerndalen, a celebrated and highly successful Norwegian Biathlete who is now in his mid-thirties, even said he would compete in Sochi 2014 when he will be close to 40 years old. We have such amazing athletes who have either grown up with disabilities or have overcome the loss of a limb to cancer or a spinal cord injury, competing at world-class levels. No longer are age and disabilities limitations for accomplishing anything world-class, athletic or otherwise. To me, being an Olympian/Paralympian means being world-class, setting an example and inspiring others to follow. It also means finding ways around, through or over any obstacles in ethical, moral, legal and fair-play ways to reach your peak performance. As a former national athlete, these past several weeks of athletic celebration inspired me to get back to my roots of training and competition. I aim to find and create excellence to become outstanding in my business, my personal relationships and my health. This is not a single destination, but instead a journey with many steps. This means setting the new standards and adhering to everything I believe in, including myself, even when others don't or won't.
Remember, there will always be naysayers who will think you are not capable. I always have hope, create a plan and then take action. I remember last summer when I set a very high goal of knocking 17 minutes off my Grouse Grind time by my birthday. And that is exactly what I did. I know how fit I was in 1999. I know that I was able to complete a marathon in 4:08 in 2005. When I was on the BC Biathlon Team, I didn't have the confidence, but I had the talent to be on the National Team. I now have the confidence, talent and knowledge to accomplish my athletic goals this summer. I plan to complete the Grouse Grind Mountain Run in 30 minutes and the Seek the Peak Race (16 km mountain run from Ambleside Park in West Vancouver to the peak of Grouse Mountain at 4100 ft) in under 2 hours. The last things are training and smart work. I know this dedication to being the most fit I have ever been will translate to excellence in my business and my relationships. Seek the Peak is my personal and business theme for 2010. How are you Seeking the Peak? Labels: Entrepreneur, Excellence, olympics, Seek the Peak, Standards, volunteer
|
Subscribe to
Posts [Atom]
|
