Monday Motivation - January 27th
Good morning all,
Firstly, to all the expats in London, Happy Australia Day for yesterday, January 26th! As an Aussie who’s been in the UK for 20 years (!), I thought it might be a good time to share some of the health secrets from Down Under in this week’s Monday Motivation.
F45, the gym group based on a 45-minute circuit workout, was originally founded in Australia and now has over 1,000 franchises in over 38 countries. Read six health tips from Jade Pearman, F45 UK Head Trainer, in a Red Magazine article here.
Similarly based around a circuit workout, Training Mate in Los Angeles was started by Luke Milton, a former national rugby league and rugby union player from Sydney. His Aussie-centric workouts, which are chock-full of Australian slang and terrible dad jokes, have garnered a cult following of expats and celebrities alike, including Khloe Kardashian. Check out his tips for the easiest and most effective workout here.
Who is Kayla Itsines? You may have heard of Sweat or the Bikini Body Guide? A good friend of mine in Australia has just taken a marketing job for her company, which started as two people making workout videos in their Adelaide garage and has turned into a global exercise phenomenon. Kayla was one of the original trainers (along with her now fiancé, Tobi Pearce), and she’s just had a baby, so if you’re pregnant or are a new mum wanting to get back to fitness, you’ll find loads of suitable workouts on the app, too. If you’d like to read more about their business story, click here.
I’ve been trying to drop a few kilograms since the Christmas blow out and I’ve been reminded the simple strategy of burning more calories that you consume works. If you want some help counting the calories, use the great and free app myfitnesspal by activewear brand Under Armour.
Back on the Aussie theme, here are three, no-nonsense weight loss tips from the Sydney Morning Herald.
The food pyramid has been around for decades and I’ve found a cool article on Nutrition Australia that looks into the history of the pyramid and how it’s changed over the years. Spoiler alert: there’s been a big change in the base of the pyramid since the first one was created in 1982!
For the parents out there, the Australian Government have put together a super extensive and useful website called Raising Children, which features everything from pregnancy to mental health tips for teens.
Who knew Hugh Jackman was so into meditation? Listen to this YouTube audio interview of how mediation has helped this beloved Aussie over the years.
Of course, it’s hard to talk about Australia without reflecting upon the devastation of the recent (and still burning) bushfires. Closer to home, our friends at Absolute Studios in Fulham are doing their best to raise funds for bushfire relief by running a raffle with some really incredible prizes, which have all been donated by local businesses (including Chiro.London Fulham). Every donation of £10 here buys you a ticket into the raffle, with the prize being drawn tonight at 5pm – so get your donations in quickly.
Lastly, if you’re interested as to why January 26th is Australia Day, check out this timeline. Although August 22nd,1770 was the day Capt. James Cook first raised the Union Jack, January 26th, 1788 was the date the first fleet arrived, and the colony began.
Signing off till next time,
Craig