​When new came out that our local Edinburgh girl Kira was in urgent need for live saving surgery in the US to free her from cancer, I started a fundraiser to help her with the funds she needed. Admittedly, I was all over the place, organising a fundraiser bootcamp and raffle in the space of a week, but I just could not sit back and do nothing.

​Here at Achievement Coaching we are all about getting fit whilst having fun, so you can imagine my excitement when Ali from Run the Sights first told me about her Gins Running Tours. Yes, Gin and Running – two of my favourite things rolled into one! It required little convincing to get a group of my clients to sign up to this, so last Sunday ten of us rock up at the Summerhall in our running gear.
Ali greets us full of warmth and enthusiasm, and we settle down for … a glass of water! Slightly relieved that the gin would happen AFTER the run, we wait for our host from the renowned PICKERINGS GIN to take us through to their distillery. Immediately feeling we are in the know on a well kept secret (who knew their distillery was tucked away in the Summerhall in the former animal stables of the Vet college?), lovely Victoria enlightens us with some great facts on Pickerings Gin.


After the 25-minute tour, we hit the road for a gentle 4 (or 5?) mile run with plenty of stops thrown in for some curious and interesting facts and myths that make our city so loveable. After conquering one of the many hills that Edinburgh has to offer, we are back at the Summerhall, all rosy cheeks and laughter. We settle down again, and this time Pickerings lady Victoria brings a round of deliciously looking G&Ts, all poured from a gin tap from the pub that has a direct gin line to the distillery (how cool is that!), and lovingly decorated with a slice of grapefruit, much to the delight of the ones who don‘t fancy cucumber in their gin. We cheer with enthusiasm, and oh my, their gin is good! Victoria comes with little shot glasses (oh dear!), and expertly pours us little samples of their three best selling gins. It‘s remarkable how much one can distinguish a gin from another with a little guidance!
Too soon, it is all over, and we fare our goodbyes to lovely Ali and Victoria before we set off home – happy and relaxed after having spent a wonderful afternoon with friends having done much of what we love; exercise in the fresh air and socialise with awesome people, a good drink and awesome banter.


Contact Ali at Run the Sights for more information on her Gin Running Tours (hint: there are Prosecco Running Tours too!).
​
If you like the sound of getting fit in the fresh air whilst having fun with a group of awesome likeminded people, like Achievement Coaching on facebook https://www.facebook.com/achievementcoaching/, check out our website at https://www.achievementcoaching.co.uk or send us an email hello@achievementcoaching.co.uk – it‘d be awesome to have you in the team!

Brigitte Cummings
Head Coach at Achievement Coaching
Achievement Coaching
Personal Training. Bootcamp. Mental Skills Training

We are so happy to be supporting the amazing charity SiMBA (simbacharity.org.uk), and their main fundraising event - the Kilt Walk (thekiltwalk.co.uk).

To support the great work they do, we have created training videos to help you to train for the Kilt Walk. Following these training sessions will help you to get fit and exercise safely, and really get the most out of this amazing event. There is also a stretching video to keep those muscles nice and flexible, and some Top Tips for the event. 

SiMBA provide care to families who have lost their children during pregnancy or very early on, a cause close to our heart. We, too, had a pregnancy loss which was very traumatic - and with SiMBA's support, we've finally managed to feel better about it. We hope they can help many more families and support them whole-heartedly in their work. 

For more information and how to sign up, visit SiMBA's Kilt Walk website. 

The Training Videos can be found here: Achievement Coaching Kilt Walk Training

When I asked my clients if they would like to do dry January, the suggestion was not greeted with too much enthusiasm – much to my utmost relief.

And that’s not because of my love for a glass of good bubbly. The relief is based on a psychological ‘law’ that draws attention to what is forbidden, effectively making you want the forbidden fruit even more.

So, when I am told that I am not allowed to drink a glass of Prosecco for the whole of January, I really (I mean really, really) want that glass of Prosecco. So much so that it makes me feel frustrated, depressed and unhappy – and that is the last thing you want in the dark month of January!

A much better way to be more healthy is to focus on what you DO want: fit into those skinny jeans, be able to run 10k, tone up. And then, you break your goal down into hands-on action points – one off them might be to cut down on that fizz. This approach is different in that you don’t forbid yourself to do anything, you simply eat and live according to your goals.

Now, doesn’t that feel much better? So, if you are after a short term challenge – by all means go for dry January. If you are in for the long-term and looking for a maintainable new way of living more healthily or losing that weight for good, then think about your goals instead, and pick the actions to get you there. And yes, you can still have that glass of Prosecco with friends, and feel fit and fab!  
​
Brigitte Cummings is your local Personal Trainer in South Edinburgh. She also offers bespoke Outdoor Group Training (aka boot camp) and unique Home Training Programmes. You can find out more under www.achievementcoaching.co.uk

Christmas it the time where we often feel like all our health and fitness are going down the drain, with one Christmas party after the other, a lack of time to exercise, and so many temptations around. Brigitte Cummings, head coach at Achievement Coaching, has some top tips how you can survive the Christmas season and end the year on a high. 
 
1. Forget all or nothing.
Don’t panic if you've just eaten most of the left wing of that gingerbread house you are making with the kids. Or if you have dived head first into that mountain of mince pies laid out at the school fair. Overindulged on a Christmas night out? Don’t worry, one slip doesn’t ruin everything. Focusing on one mistake will just be the cause for more. Rather than dwelling on what has happened, let it go, forgive yourself, and look forward. Have an extra healthy meal, go for a brisk walk in the fresh air, reset, and start again. 
 
2. Go back to the basics. 
Reset by focusing on the basics: Lay out your exercise clothes and put out your trainers before your go to bed. Figure out what you are going to eat tomorrow. Go online and order a bunch of healthy groceries for the week (no temptation to pick something off the shelves that’s not on your list!). Then, go to bed early if you can. Get a good night’s sleep and start afresh the next day. 
 
3. Go 80:20.
You don’t want to deprive yourself of some Christmas fun. Join in the celebrations and enjoy it to the max with this simple 80:20 rule: 80% healthy and 20% treats. So fill up your plate with 80% of healthy goodness, and add 20% of fun stuff. Decrease portion sizes. Share desert with your friend (shared calories are half the calories!). Indulge wisely and mindfully, choosing the treats you really want, then savour every little bite. 
 
4. Visualise your goal and log your progress.
Visualisation is a powerful motivational tool that keeps us focused on our goal and the path to get there. So visualise yourself at the time when you will have reached your goal. Feel, hear, and see yourself fit and healthy and full of energy, and tap into that image every time you are facing an excuse to doing a workout or to sticking with your healthy routine. Every time you eat well and you are physically active, you will be a step closer to that goal, so log your progress and keep at it. 
 
Give yourself or a loved one the gift of fitness this Christmas. 
Bespoke Personal Training, Outdoor Group Training, and Running Workshops
in South Edinburgh. 

With us entering the colder and darker time of the year, you might wonder how to continue all the good work you have put into your running over the summer. Treadmills are not everyone’s cup of tea, but there are ways you can use them over winter to keep you ticking over until the days get longer again. Here are three tips how to make the most of treadmill training.

1. Set your gradient to 1%. Roads are never flat and this will allow you to simulate an outdoor environment better.
2. Make a plan and keep it varied: Plan your training and include the functions on the treadmill to vary your training. Add hill runs, fartlek sessions, interval sessions, time trials, speed sessions, etc. to your training.
3. Stay safe and have fun: Just as on the road, make sure you keep cool and hydrated. Watch TV for those long runs, just make sure to stay safe and keep your form. Or add your favourite music for extra motivation. Enjoy!

With the holidays drawing to a close and the kids going back to school (do I hear a sigh of relief?), now is the perfect opportunity to start the new term on a healthy routine. If you have struggled in the past to make exercise a lasting healthy habit, fear no more! There are some easy things you can do to make it really stick this time.

1. Make exercise your ‘go to’ stress and tiredness buster.Here is the thing: exercise gives you a natural energy boost. So forget chocolate, wine, and other treats – save them for social occasions. Instead, opt for some exercise – a gym session, a run, some yoga, a walk around the block. Sometimes, 10 minutes is all it takes and you feel so much better – and all without the extra calories!

2. Stop thinking.
Once you have decided, get regular slot(s) booked into your diary and just do it. Classes are great as you can book them into your diary for the same day and time each week, and when you have paid for them you have an extra incentive to go.  

3. The goal behind the goal.
You might have a goal that you want to achieve but what will really keep you going is the ‘goal behind the goal’. So think about what reaching our goal will allow you to do – what will you be able to do when you are fitter, have lost some weight, or gained some strength? It might be being able to keep up with the kids, lying on the beach with a new bikini, or signing up to that 5k with friends.

4. Stack habits
You are more likely to drop a habit if it is not fully integrated into your life. Stacking habits means you attach your new exercise habit to something else you like doing. Maybe you can listen to your favourite tune on the way to your workout, have a coffee with friends or fellow exercisers after, or walk past your fav shop for a wee nosey on your way home.  

5. Let someone else do the planning for you.
Doing a workout on your own can be daunting. You might feel uncertain what exercises to do or how to build up your running. By joining a class or trying a Personal trainer, you can leave the planning to someone else, and all you need to do is to show up with your trainers and a bottle of water.  

6. Smile.
If it’s fun it’s more likely that you will come back. So put a smile on your face and and start releasing feel good hormones the moment you are exercising. Also, a good instructor will make a class feel more like a party than a boring workout. Try to find a group to exercise with, have a chat, have a laugh, and feel even more fab.  

7. Enjoy the buzz.
Exercise releases endorphins and leaves you on a high. Enjoy this short term reward and keep coming back for more – and the longterm goals will take care of themselves.

​There are only a couple of natural changing points for habits during the year – and the end of holidays is one of them. Why wait until New Year – make exercise a healthy habit now!

​Achievement Coaching – your place for bespoke Personal Training, Outdoor Group Training, and Running Workshops in South Edinburgh.

Cross-training means complementing your running, cycling, and swimming training programmes with other forms of training. This will decrease your risk of injury, get you over any training plateaus/stagnation, and will solve any muscle imbalances you might have from your main sport. For instance, often in cyclists the front of the legs are dominant so cross-training can help you develop more strength in your hamstrings. Also, you want to have a strong core as with every pedal stroke your core switches on to protect your lower back. Furthermore, you want strong triceps to be able to cope with long cycle rides leaning over your handle bars. The best form of exercise is HIIT (high intensity interval training) combined with strength (weight bearing) exercises. Check out our BootCamps, carefully designed to incorporate a healthy balance of exercises with lots of variations and progressions - designed and coached by an experienced triathlon coach. Any questions just drop me a line, I am always happy to help!
#crosstraining ​#triathletes #cyclists #runners#achievementcoaching

3 Strategies to get you through tough workouts (and, indeed, any tough spells in life)
Next time something is tough or something adverse happens, try to interpret events according to these principles. You can also teach these to your children and lead by example to equip them with amazing life skills!
If you like this article, please feel free to share it and like us on facebook to get more information like this and about our upcoming Mental Skills Seminars.
#achievementcoaching #achieveyourgoals #lifeskills #mentalskills