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  • Hustle, Habits and Health with Aaron Breckell

    26th February 2021

    26th February 2021

    By Caitlin Bell

    Aaron Breckell is an online body transformation coach at ABC fit and an Innermost Ambassador. Aaron has been a coach for over five years now, and is currently working with over 75 clients online all working towards fat loss, muscle gain and performance based goals. We sat down with Aaron to find out about how healthy habits and routine fuel his hustle, and how he teaches the importance of habit to his clients. 
    Hey Aaron! Tell our readers a little bit more about yourself and your background?

    I'm a personal trainer and online coach that helps individuals to burn fat, build muscle and improve their confidence. I’ve been doing this for around 10 years now and have worked with hundreds of people. My own interest in health and fitness comes from my background and experiences working out in the gym and improving my body and lifestyle. As well as my interests in the gym, I’m a keen guitar player and I also love surfing!

    What inspired you to start ABC Fit?

    My coaching business is a reflection of my ethos when it comes to health, fitness and body transformations. I love helping people and I wanted to deliver a message to my clients that shows simplicity and sustainability. Getting in shape and improving your health doesn’t need to be, nor should it be hard and complicated. The “ABC" in ABC Fit stands for Aaron Breckell Coaching, but ABC being the first three letters of the alphabet are simple and easy - just like the message I’m trying to get across. 

    Do you think health and fitness is all about habit?

    Habits allow us to live our lives efficiently without thinking about the small, regular things we do day in, day out. I think of them like the human body’s autopilot. Developing good habits and maintaining them is fundamental to seeing longterm sustainable results with any goal.


    How have positive habits changed your life? 

    Positive habits have not only helped me to change my body, build my confidence and improve my health. They also have created the disciplines that have allowed me to build and run a successful coaching business.

    Take us through your daily routine. How do your daily habits drive this?

    7am: My days usually begin at around 7am. I kick the morning off with my breakfast which is usually a high protein/moderate carb/moderate fat meal. I find this is the best way to start my day. Along with my breakfast I take The Focus Capsules. This has been such a fundamental supplement since working from home for me as it helps me to keep my focus and concentration. As we all know there are so many distractions at home that can get in the way - so staying on top of things mentally is vital!

    9am: After my breakfast, I let this settle and switch on my laptop and reply to any urgent emails or messages from clients. The next thing on my agenda is to take care of myself so at around 9am I begin my workout. Around 20 minutes before my workout, I start sipping The Energy Booster. Making a habit of a morning workout means it gets done.

    11am: I’ll finish my workout with the Innermost Strong Protein. This hit of protein helps my muscles to recover, plus its got creatine added which is a bonus so it can help to replenish my creatine stores too. I’ll be showered and dressed and at my desk by 11am ready to get stuck into the day. The bulk of my working day involves checking in with clients via my app, answering any queries and creating custom meal and workout plans for them to follow for amazing results.

    1pm: Around 1pm I’ll have my lunch. I normally opt for something quick/easy, yet nutritious like a chicken wrap with avocado and salad. One thing I’ve found that has helped my productivity massively since working from home is to make a habit of setting and planning daily tasks to accomplish each day. It’s also really important to schedule in breaks during the day away from work or else it becomes so easy to keep working through without a break. It’s great to work hard at your job, but you still need to look after yourself right!


    2pm:
    After lunch I’ll be back at my desk again and getting stuck into more client focused work. I quite often use this time to create content for my social media too.

    6pm: I’d typically work right up until 6pm, by which point I’m ready for my dinner! I normally cook up something like fajitas or a pasta and meatball dish in the evening. Again something high protein and delicious!

    9pm: Around 9pm I’ll take The Recover Capsules to further assist my recovery from training and the working day. This nootropic contains all sorts of amazing micronutrients such as zinc and magnesium, to help assist with recovery and calm the nervous system for an even better nights sleep. I’ve found I sleep like a baby since adding these into my routine.

    10:30pm: I’ve made getting into bed by 10.30pm a habit. Sleep is so important!

    Best advice for breaking bad habits and routines?

    I would say - ease yourself in. Work on one thing at a time and nail this before moving onto the next. So many of us try to overhaul our routines overnight and as a results fail to adhere to the changes. Looking for ways to create accountability within the new habits you’re trying to stick to can also be helpful. For example an online coach, a food diary, a habits buddy you can share the journey with or by keeping a journal.

    Best advice you’ve ever been given?

    “In every negative situation there is a positive. Sometimes we just have to look a little harder for it”. Looping this back around to habits, if you keep failing at sticking to certain habits, there’s a reason behind it. It’s not necessarily a bad thing if you look into why it's happening. Find the why and you find the positive. Understand what it’s trying to teach you, learn the lesson and I guarantee you’ll be successful.


    What have you found to be the most challenging habit to keep up with?

    When I first got started on my journey, I initially found drinking 3L of water each day to be a challenge. One way to help stick to habits you’re struggling with is to understand the positive impacts of it. For example we all brush our teeth twice a day because we understand it will help us to keep a white healthy smile, a clean mouth and fresh breath right? I didn’t understand the importance of staying hydrated - so once I educated myself around that I made a much better effort to stick to it as a habit and it worked.

    What are some of your worst habits? 

    Social media scrolling at night! We all do it, and it’s probably effecting our sleep patterns negatively. It’s definitely something I need to work on over the coming months and instead perhaps leave my phone in another room when I get into bed.

    Favourite aspect of being a lifestyle coach?

    I love being able to communicate a message to my clients (and followers on social media) that takes them from point A to B. It’s so empowering for me to see another individual achieve something important to them, especially when they’ve tried before and failed or have been led to believe that it’s impossible.

    To learn more about Aaron, follow him on Instagram or head to his website

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    On Resolutions And Staying Authentic With Anj Magecha
    We sat down with Innermost Insider and mindful wellness advocate Anj Magecha, who shares how she stays on track with new goals and habits whilst remaining true to herself, and what to do when faced with setbacks. Hey Anj! Can you introduce yourself to our readers? Hey everyone, I’m Anj! I’m a 24 year old wellness geek working in consulting. I’m all about navigating life in London, trying to find a balance in my approach to nutrition, exercise and socialising, and improving my mental health and personal development 1% at a time. (And hopefully helping other people do the same!)  How did you become an Innermost Insider and what’s your goal as an ambassador for the brand? I’ve been a Innermost user since I joined F45 TCR in 2018, I was new to the gym, vegan, and in need of some serious protein intake to pack on muscle— at a time where most vegan protein powders were a bit rubbish! I also run on caffeine and hate coffee so got hooked on the pre-workout to fuel going to the gym, uni, working at lululemon and a busy social life!  I joined the Insider program as soon as I was able to, and have seen so much growth for the brand since then! I love all the extra merch, the sweatshirt and duffel are essential - so would love to see more of my go to gym bag essentials become Innermost 👀 Our topic this month is resolution. How would you personally define resolution and has it been a pivotal part of your life?  Resolution means taking control of your own life and making conscious choices that lead you towards the often intangible ‘better’. It's about having the determination and drive to create the future you want for yourself, and accepting the task of navigating the challenges that come your way. To me, resolution is about being true to myself and living with purpose. It's about not letting fear or doubt hold me back, but instead trusting in my own strength and abilities to overcome any obstacle even when it feels like it’s too difficult, or unfair. To be resolute requires a strong sense of self-discipline and self-control, as well as a clear vision of what you want to achieve. It requires a sense of resilience and adaptability, and the understanding that things sometimes get worse when they get better. Resolution has showed up for me in my journey with eating disorder recovery and weight restoration, with difficult conversations with therapists, even with holding boundaries with friends when sometimes it feels easier to let things slide. It’s not just about the big things! Ultimately, resolution is about living a life that is authentic, meaningful, and fulfilling. It's about having the conviction to pursue my passions and make a positive impact on the world around me. How do you go about setting goals in your life? So this is an interesting one. I suck at New Years resolutions. Or so I thought. With a background in disordered eating and a late diagnosis of ADHD I can retrospectively look back at some of my new years resolutions and understand why they felt so insurmountable.  To keep it brief, they were generally unrealistic, overly restrictive or prescriptive, and boring. And to be honest, sometimes goals aren’t going to be exciting.  I’ve read quite extensively around habit forming and achievement and currently quite like the 12 week year format (it’s a book, decent read but for a short version there’s a video on my TikTok!) The 12 week year has really resonated with me - it's all about focusing on what's most important and taking consistent, small steps towards achieving your goals over the course of three months, and then re-evaluating. So a year long goal gets broken into 4 three-month goals, then 12 one-month goals, and so on, until the minutiae of daily habits. It helps you focus on what matters most It keeps you accountable It allows for flexibility It helps you make progress faster Do you ever struggling with sticking to your goals and resolutions? How do you overcome setbacks? Overcoming setbacks in pursuit of your goals can be tough, but it's also an essential part of the journey towards success. Every challenge and obstacle presents an opportunity to learn, grow, and become stronger. I am a very emotionally driven person, when I get sad or anxious or I’m face with a negative life event, my goals are quite easily derailed. So for me it’s important to allow myself time to recuperate after a major setback, as it can be emotionally and physically draining to deal with challenges and obstacles. Taking a break to rest and recharge helps refocus and regain energy and motivation.I practice self-compassion and am not afraid to reach out for support when things feel overwhelming. I’m also a strong believer in setting boundaries for myself to protect my time and energy. Naturally some setbacks are less personal, things like the pandemic or tube strikes. In those cases I try to keep things in perspective: an old manager at lululemon used to say, at the end of the day, it’s just black stretchy pants and I apply that thinking to most areas of my life. Don't let setbacks define who you are or what you're capable of. Instead, use them as an opportunity to learn and grow. Are there certain times where you feel more motivated to set goals or resolutions? Naturally times like birthdays and new years have loads of messaging around goals and time passing, but in my experience I find birthday goals and new years goals are just that. They exist until I feel less festive and then things get difficult. I find the goals that come to me in the other 75% of the year are actually more in line with what makes me feel happy and healthy. The 12 week year method really helps facilitate this for me. Furthermore according to a study published in the journal Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, people are more likely to succeed in their goals when they start working towards them immediately, rather than waiting for a specific time (like the new year) to begin. When we set a goal, we often have a burst of motivation and energy that can drive us to take initial steps towards achieving it. By waiting to start working on our goals, we risk losing that initial motivation and energy, which can make it harder to get started. So why wait for the new year to make changes that will make you happy? What advice would you give to others about setting goals and resolutions for the future? Check in with yourself to make sure your goals are your own and not what you think people expect from you. And don’t be afraid to set goals that people aren’t going to see happen, there have been points in my life where my goal has been to get out of bed every day for a week and they were probably more difficult and transformative than any weight loss or fitness goal I’ve set for myself.  Do you have any important personal resolutions for the next year? I have some goals from my previous 12 week cycle, including the turf games in summer 2023 hopefully, which naturally lends itself to some commitments around training style and frequency.  I think saying no more often is a big one for me. Not to everything by any means but I do a lot of things that I think I ‘should’ do and I usually go in eyes wide open knowing it’ll leave me not feeling great. So hopefully this year I’ll have the resolve to just say no straight off the bat!  That's a wrap! To keep up with Anj, check out her Instagram and TikTok. Read more