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Darren Placid / Q&A

10th August 2020

10th August 2020

By Caitlin Bell

Darren Placid is a man of many talents. A personal trainer, a fitness instructor at Digme, an online coach, a firefighter, a husband and a father, Darren is all about living life at its fullest and maximising his physical and mental performance in whatever he does. We recently caught up with the Innermost Insider to talk about what he's been up to lately, what motivates him, and how he's handled the past few months.

"It’s tempting to procrastinate in the hope of finding 'the perfect time' to start your fitness journey. However, this frame of mind tends to mean that you’ll never get started. In order to truly succeed, you have to find a unique way of making it enjoyable for yourself. This enjoyment is what will make it a permanent part of your lifestyle. This path is different for everyone, so remember to find what works for you and then stick to it." - Darren

What’s your hustle?

I’m a personal trainer, group fitness instructor, online coach and a firefighter. Not to mention a family man too. And breathe.

What does #liveinnermost mean to you?

For me, when meeting the Innermost team, it was all about what's good for you and how to improve your performance. Which in my case is great as I’m all about improving my performance both physically and mentally. 

Favourite Innermost products and why?

For me it has to be the proteins. I train at a high intensity and recovery is vital, so the protein definitely helps with this and allows my muscles to get ready again for the next day. I love The Lean Protein in Vanilla. Staying lean is my thing.


Why is staying fit and healthy important to you? How do you incorporate it into your daily life?

For me fitness is a way of life, and staying fit and healthy isn’t just good for you, it's good for the people around you too. I regularly go to the gym either on my own or with my wife as she's from a sporting background. But my son is also very active and I really feel that being fit and active for him is important, especially as he looks at his parents as role models. 

How did you find lockdown? Was it a challenging time for you, and if so how did you adapt?

At first I thought lockdown would be a challenge. But being a firefighter I still had to go to work. My fitness instructing took a bit of a hit but Digme moved very quickly to do online classes which played a part to keep me motivated. I also had to think outside of the box by doing a lot more stuff online, hence why I launched my online coaching and nutrition plans. Overall, the best part was that I got to spend more time with my family and recharge, so I was ready to get back to normal life. 

How have you tried to stay fit and healthy (mentally and physically) during this time?

For me it was never a case of trying. Before lockdown, I normally went for road runs, did exercises in the park and in my house so it didn’t feel that much of a difference. I always say that training the mind is as important as training the body so I read a lot of books on positive thinking and maintaining positivity in regards to training and lifestyle.


What have you missed most over the past few months? 

Not being able to see close friends and family was hard. But since I had to go to work at the fire station I was able to see friends there, so it wasn’t too bad! Having to cancel my son's birthday was hard, but for a 4-year-old he seemed to handle it really well.

Any books, films or TV shows you’re currently obsessed with?

Ok, so this is the child in me. I love Marvel films and I used to be a massive collector of the comics and I’ve got my son into watching all the films too. But on a serious note, I like to read biographies and books about the mind and body. I’m currently reading my friend Cherno Samba’s book, Still In The Game, about how he became an international footballer and the challenges he'd faced.

What’s the most challenging thing you’ve done in your life and how did you overcome it?

The most challenging thing in fitness terms has definitely been just maintaining my level of fitness. I think reaching my fitness goals was fairly easy as I had a specific target to reach, but maintaining it is the hardest part. Feeling that you can always improve is something you have to be realistic with as you’ll never be happy. But now I’ve got myself into a place where if I miss a day of training it’s absolutely fine. There’s always tomorrow. 


Who or what motivates you?

My family definitely motivate me. If you look at my social media and my quotes, most them come from my wife. She always motivates me to do more and remain professional, and even when there are times I feel like she’s being hard on me, I always know it’s for the best. 

My son also motivates me - he's always active and loves to play sports. He starts school in September and I know I have around eight or nine months to get ready for the parents' race at his school sports day, so there’s a little motivation for me there too!

Where’s your happy place?

At home with the family. Seeing them is definitely a happy place for me and the best way to relax too. 

Best advice you’ve ever received? 

Again from my wife, that as I get older I have to work smarter and not harder.

Any current goals, fitness or otherwise?

Right now, my overall goal is to remain as healthy as possible and to impart knowledge to others about a healthy lifestyle, not just physically but mentally too. And we all have to remember when we are on a journey that Rome wasn’t built in a day.

If you want to see more from Darren, don't forget to follow him @darrenplacid. And if you want to read more exclusive Q&As with Innermost Insiders, be sure to check them out here.

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Navigating Indulgence with Chloe Thomas
Chloe is a life, nutrition and fitness coach from the South East Of England. She has been a coach for 7 years now, working mainly with women. Her goal is to help women become their healthiest and become the best version of themselves, Innermost helps to achieve this.    View this post on Instagram A post shared by CHLOE THOMAS || ONLINE COACH 🦋 (@_chloeinspires_) Our topic for July is Indulgence. Tell us what indulgence means to you, and what are your favourite ways to indulge. Indulgence for me is having time away from the chaos of life - relaxing in nature, reading a book, going on a hike, seeing a friend or family. I love being outdoors and going on adventures like kayaking or surfing and I love to travel! It brings me back to “me” and allows me to re connect with myself and my values. I do also like to indulge in some yummy unhealthy food every so often too- on my holiday recently I indulged in a delicious pizza and yummy scones! How do you strike a balance between indulging in something you enjoy and overindulging to the point of excess? I think this is important as it can become unhealthy if you over indulge too much as this can lead to an addiction. If you are indulging in something excessively it may be because you are unhappy in your life elsewhere, and are using that thing to avoid the pain or discomfort you are feeling in your life. For example, I see sometimes in my clients over-eating due to emotions (emotional eating), which is where they are over-indulging to try and avoid uncomfortable feelings - which inevitably doesn't work and leaves you feeling uncomfortable and guilty. In what ways can indulging in something be beneficial to our mental health and well-being? I guess it is important to take time out from our “go-go” lives where our brains are constantly being stimulated - especially due to our phones. So taking time to indulge in having time out with your friends or alone is important. I also think it is important to indulge in nice foods from time to time - especially in social situations.   View this post on Instagram A post shared by CHLOE THOMAS || ONLINE COACH 🦋 (@_chloeinspires_) How can indulging in certain activities, such as eating or drinking, have negative impacts on our physical health? Over eating or drinking can leave us feeling low in energy, low in mood and tends to exacerbate anxiety, aka “hangxiety” when it comes to alcohol. It can also cause weight gain and inflammation within the body which can lead to auto-immune diseases and illness. It is important to be conscious of not over-indulging in these two things too much - it's about striking that balance between a healthy amount and an excessive amount. How can we practice self-control and limit indulgences in order to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle? I think it is important to think about our future and what damage over indulging can do to our health long term. I try and remind myself of this. And even thinking of how you will feel the next week or day if you over indulge. For example, when I drink too much alcohol I sleep bad, it effects my training, my mood, my cravings etc - so I don’t drink often or in excess. I remind clients to think of their ‘why’ and also where they want to be in 5 months and 5 years time. Can indulgence ever be considered a form of self-care, or is it always a potentially harmful behaviour? I personally think it’s about that balance I mentioned before. For example, on my recent holiday I had a big pizza to myself which was overindulgent BUT I rarely have pizza - think the last time was February! So it’s fine for me to do it once in a while. I think too much indulging in anything is a sign that you may be not content in your life and are looking for something on the outside to soothe something uncomfortable on the inside (mentally speaking). What Innermost product(s) have you been loving recently? Definitely the The Digest Capsules I love them and so do my clients! They help with my bloating and IBS massively. I also love The Relax Capsules for around my period when i have PMS and trouble relaxing. They are great! Our final question is ... What’s your innermost desire that you’re hoping comes true this year? To reach even more women across the world to join my community of women and reach their healthy and fitness goals, build a better relationship with food and learn how to love their body again! I want to get women off fad diets and know there are easier ways to be healthy and lose weight! I would really like to be at the point where I can hold retreats for them by the end of the year. That's a wrap on this months interview questions. Thank you so much Chloe for your time! it’s been a pleasure chatting with you! To keep up with Chloe be sure the follow them on _chloeinspires_ Read more
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