Enterprise Fitness Podcast

S6:E32 - How we set goals for 2024 (EF Year in Review!)

I’m not going to sugarcoat it.
 
2023 has been a very challenging year.
 
We've had a lot of downs, from our Facebook accounts being hacked to seemingly endless delays in moving to our new studio.
 
But we’ve also had a lot of wins!
 
We released The Enterprise Diet, revamped our Podcast, refreshed our websites, and managed to grow and promote many of our trainers.
 
But often, we get too busy focusing on what didn’t happen rather on the gift of what did.
 
In short, we have a lot to be grateful for from the year 2023.
 
So, we wanted to introduce you to our process of how we set goals for the new year. We don't do resolutions; instead, we engage in a Year in Review process, which fellow fans of Tim Ferriss might also be familiar with.
 
Grab a blank piece of paper and divide it in two.
 
On one side, make a column, 'do more,' and on the other, 'avoid.
 
Then go through your diary, calendar or Google planner from the start of the year and look at all the appointments that brought you dread… put them in the avoid column.
 
Then, all the things that brought your excitement, growth or you felt positive about, put them in the ‘do more’ column.
 
At the end, you’ll have a list. My guess is on both sides, you’ll have people, places and things, some of which bring you pain and lead you on a downward spiral, the other, bringing you joy, support and helping you go where you want.
 
It's a super simple yet powerful reflection exercise.
 
But I get it; these things sound good in theory, so Ari and I will go first…
 
Check out this week's episode of the Enterprise Fitness Podcast: 2023, Enterprise Fitness Year in Review!
 
 
We cover:
 
Tips for journaling and writing down your goals
The power of green light thinking
Death of Identity: Letting go of identities to allow yourself to set bigger goals
Warrior mindset vs king or queen mindset
Getting the ‘reps in’ to create change and the mindset tools to employ
Understanding trigger events like New Years and your 40th
New Year Resolution Vs. the year in the review process.
Concept: Impossibility thinking
How to make a bad habit hard to achieve
Aris goals for 2024
My goals for 2024
What’s on the card for Enterprise 2024
 
 
My guess is, you’ll probably relate to this podcast a lot and it will help you set goals for your 2024.
 
Merry Christmas!
 
 
Mark Ottobre
Enterprise Fitness

S6:E31 - Do Christmas Calories Count?

Christmas is right around the corner!
Hooray!
Over the years, we’ve seen a consistent pattern where folks have mini freak outs over how to stay on track during the Christmas season. Maybe your not someone who panics, but like most, you might struggle to resist freshly baked plum pudding or that need to get your second (third or fourth) serving of dessert and wonder, How can I enjoy my plum pudding and still stay in shape? 
Well, I don’t blame you and your not alone. 
It’s Christmas.
A time to be jolly. 
One of the big reasons why many struggle with the Christmas period is the insidious all or none mentality.
You eat all the calories over Christmas only to commit to eating none of them on January 1st. 
It doesn’t work. It’s not a lifestyle. 
The thing about all or done is, it seldomly gives you all, and usually gives you none. 
I use to be guilty of this myself. 
My offical review after years of trying to force to have it all; 
1 star… please don’t make a sequel.  
And that’s exactly why one of the best times to start a fitness and health program is over Christmas. 
Because if you can overcome your BS excuses over Christmas, nothing will ever phase you. 
You can learn to dance with life's choices rather than having to be perfect, that one dessert you had off plan doesn’t have to throw your whole plan and momentum for the whole week. 
It becomes a lifestyle. 
Maybe even enjoyable. 
And making it enjoyable is kinda of important seeing we want you to stick to it. 
There’s no point getting your dream body if it’s a nightmare to maintain. 
As I write this, I am no where near my peak fitness and strength. I’ve gotten in 5 workouts in 2 weeks as I write this to from Florida in the lovely USA. 
But I am not phased, even with Christmas around the corner. 
My manta is; I am a healthy person, who eats healthy foods that builds and nourishes my body. That’s my default, and a couple of weeks travelling and Christmas doesn’t change that.  
So in this this episode of The Enterprise Fitness Podcast, I sit down with Senior Coach Ari and discuss the Enterprise Guide to Surviving the Silly Season. 
Its a quick 20 minute episode, loaded with what you need to stay on track AND- enjoy Christmas.

S6:E30 - Exploring Philosophy, Amor Fati, and More

In this week's podcast episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Ari to delve into one of my all-time favourite subjects: philosophy. Philosophy, as we discuss, plays a crucial role in helping us navigate the highs and lows of life.
 
One of my personal philosophies is embodied by the phrase "Amor Fati," a concept modernised by Nietzsche. It essentially means embracing and loving one's fate, without the desire for anything to be different, be it the past, present, or future. It's a powerful idea that keeps me anchored in my lows and grounded in my highs (I even had it tattooed on my chest as a constant reminder).
 
During our conversation, Ari and I covered a wide range of philosophical topics, including:
 
**Amor Fati:**  - The art of loving one's fate.
**Memento Mori:** - The reminder of our mortality and the importance of living fully.
**La Catrina:** - Exploring why Ari is considering this tattoo.
**Living for Legacy vs. Being Present:** - Discussing the balance between hedonism and virtue.
**Delayed Gratification:** - Why it's essential for achieving long-term goals.
**My Main Metric of Success:** - The satisfaction of a full table.
**Raising Kids:** - Sharing my insights on parenting, including some memorable experiences.
**Age of Obedience vs. Age of Transparency:** - Examining the evolving dynamics of authority and openness.
Thank you for being part of our community, and I hope you enjoy this week's episode.

S6:E29 - Behind the Scenes at Enterprise Fitness - A Personal Journey

On any given day, the atmosphere at Enterprise is so thick you could cut it with a knife.
Our dumbbells are shiny, our team is smiling, and our clients are happy.
And it’s not by accident.
If you want to offer a premium service and get results where most fail, you have to pay attention to the details.
For anyone running a business or trying to work at something (your career, relationships, health), you know it’s not always going to be easy.
Life has no shortage of challenges, especially if you commit to excellence.
So, in this week's episode of the Enterprise Fitness Podcast, Heming and Cristiano put me on the hot seat and get up close and personal as they ask me about the highs and lows of starting and running Enterprise Fitness.
In this episode, we get into:
- How I went from the fat kid at school to a personal trainer- My ‘forced’ start in business- Personal philosophies- Business challenges- Mistakes- Reflections- And so much more
If you ever wanted to know the backstory or a behind-the-scenes look at Enterprise Fitness, this podcast is for you.
If you're a fellow business owner, this one might speak to you. 
Train Hard,
P.S. Early bird pricing for Elite Results Bootcamp ends this Saturday at midnight! Click here.
P.P.S. Want deep dives on training, nutrition, and mindset? Check out previous podcast episodes here.

S6:E28 - Three Diet Strategies: Which One Fits You?

There are three main ways to put together a diet: 
Following a overarching set of principles or rules
Following a meal plan or using a food system 
Tracking and counting macros or calories
And each has varying levels of success and failure. 
 
You see, there isn’t “one” way. 
 
It's the way that it makes sense to you so that you stick to it.  
 
For me, I’m a big-picture type of guy. 
 
I like to follow principles that I can scale up or down depending on what season I’m in. So long as I hit my protein goal each day, for the most part, I’m good. I don’t count calories or track my carbs. James was shocked when he found out how much good fat I eat daily (does anyone else eat butter like cheese, or is that just me?)
 
Then there’s owner trainers Amy, Tyrone, and Al. 
 
Their spirit animal is Excel. They track, count and calculate. They flip food around and have fun making things fit their macros. 
 
Our induction coach, Heming, on the other hand, just wants to be told what to do, when to do it, and how much to eat.
 
There isn’t the ONE universal way.
 
So in today's episode of the Enterprise Fitness Podcast, I present How to Put Your Plan Together, covering the three methods in depth. 
 
This presentation was taken from my most recent Internship, where I taught a class full of trainers the Enterprise secrets to success. Recently, I figured I may as well post my most in-depth classes (the stuff folks usually pay for) because it only helps our clients get better results and the folks interested in what we do — more interested. 
 
So enjoy. 

S6:E27 - Principles to Coaching Change!

Empathy and authority.
 
The two most powerful forces in coaching.
 
Empathy is about understanding and compassion.
 
Authority is about respect and earned trust.
 
Sadly, this isn’t taught in personal training school, and very few trainers ever get the memo.
 
A coach with empathy means they ‘get you’. They understand your situation, and you’re not just some schmuck with average goals. They know how to read you, when to push you and give you vinegar, and when to support you and give you honey.
 
A coach with authority has a why for everything they do. It’s built on them studying their craft and being a student. You respect and trust them because they actually know what they are doing and how to get you results (unlike many of these thirsty social media fit-pros who are more concerned with whether they took a good selfie than serving their client).
 
But that’s a topic for another day.
 
It's the dichotomy of empathy and authority that creates a great coaching relationship.
 
This is something that I teach to all my Enterprise trainers and those who seek out my guidance in my Internship program.
 
However, the lessons are so poignant for both coaches and clients I wanted to make my lecture on the topic publicly available. Think of me as your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, but instead of shooting webs, I release podcasts and YouTube videos.
 
In today's episode of The Enterprise Fitness Podcast, I share with you my Principles of Coaching Change. Filmed in front of a live studio audience at my most recent Internship.
 
Enjoy!

S6:E26 - Hormones and Calories

In this week's episode of The Enterprise Fitness podcast, I tackle the debate: Why we get fat: calories or hormones? 
 
The two prominent ways to assess and explain all mechanisms of diet and nutrition are calories and hormones.
 
On one side, a calorie is a calorie; weight loss or weight gain is merely a mathematical equation of calories in and calories out. 
 
On the other, hormones and biochemistry send chemical messages to store calories in fat cells and overwrite appetite control.
 
Depending on perspective, and to the average person, both are accurate explanations for weight loss and weight gain. An army of experts, gurus, camps and zealots have emerged from these prominent perspectives. 
 
In nutrition, there is no middle ground. You simply must pick a side, and if you don’t, you will be ostracised — a fate worse than death to a social media influencer. Today, nutrition is less about science and more about selecting ‘the science’ that matches your identity. 
 
As a coach, I care less about why something works and more about what works. To state simply, my client pays me, so I don’t need to pick sides. I don’t need to make keto memes or shout about ‘evidence-based’ results in a grab for social media followers and sales. I’ve coached hundreds of champions and my studio has worked with thousands of clients. The two things I care about are results and client longevity. Out of necessity, I had to adapt the viewpoints of calories and hormones and practically apply both theories in the real world. 
 
But a calorie is not a calorie…
 
I used to think you could gain and lose weight independent of calorie intake. Gary Taubes, author of Good Calories, Bad Calories, championed the idea that it’s insulin, not calories, that causes weight gain and weight loss. It was indeed a convincing argument. I even used my own analogy to support the hormone-based theory. I would say: if we had two groups, both with an intake of 2200 maintenance calories a day, and gave one group anabolic steroids and the other group no hormonal invention, the group that took the steroids would burn fat and build muscle despite not being in a caloric deficit. This was to point out the impact hormones have on building muscle and burning fat. My analogy did correctly point out the impact of hormones, but the impact of hormones and exogenous drugs on metabolism also needed to be addressed.
 
In other words, this analogy, as beautifully crafted as it is, still adhered to calories in versus calories out. The caloric baseline of those taking the anabolic steroids will increase, so the premise of the analogy is no longer true. Taking steroids will increase metabolism, hence increasing baseline calories. Let's estimate from this intervention that baseline jumps up 300 calories from 2200 to 2500 due to an increase in non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) - and that’s why they lose weight. In short, people don’t gain/lose weight because of hormones, they gain and lose weight because hormones are having an impact on their energy balance. 
 
As such, it’s impossible to refute calories prominent role in weight loss and gain. Further to the point, Kevin Hall’s metabolic ward study in 2016 showed that for isocaloric diets with the same amount of protein and calories, eating high-carb or low-carb did not induce any significant change in weight loss/gain. In other words, when calories are equal, carbs (or fat) don’t make you fat. This study is worth noting because it's a metabolic ward study, where all factors were measured and controlled. 
 
The fat-loving and keto-loving crew might shy away from the simple truth, but I won’t; calories count, and the insulin-only theory to obesity, as far as I can tell, has been debunked. At the very least, and more practically, calories and insulin play a simultaneous role in weight gain and loss.
 
Now that I’ve just scratched the surface of this topic, enjoy my full deep dive in this week's episode of The Enterprise Fitness Podcast
 
Available on iTunes, Spotify and YouTube (or wherever you listen to podcasts)
This deep dive is based on Chapter 3 of my book, The Enterprise Diet, which you can purchase here. 
 
Ps. You might be thinking, why am I giving away so much valuable content away for free? I figured, what better way to earn your trust that actually helps you get the results you're looking for, for free? 
 
If you're enjoying our content, forward this email to a friend and remember to subscribe, like and follow.  
 
Pps. I’m running a 3 day Bootcamp of fun, training and learning! Learn more here

S6:E25 - ”Overcoming Flat-Tyre Syndrome - How to Start Your Day Right

We’ve all been there, at least metaphorically. 
 
You’re driving home from the end of a big day, going maybe just a little too fast to see the bed of nails.
 
‘POP!” 
 
One of your tyres goes out. 
 
As you pull over to the side of the road to survey the damage, your sanity escapes you, expelling like the air from that punctured tyre. So you do what any once-rational person would do in that situation and slash the other three. 
 
Hours later, once you have returned from the descent into madness, you finally decide to call the tow truck guy to replace not one but four flat tyres!
 
In coaching, this is called flat-tyre syndrome, commonly known as the ‘What-the-hell’ effect in psychology, and it’s a real killer of fitness and weight loss progress.
 
It’s not that hard to picture yourself being affected by this. 
 
You’ve been sticking to your diet, weighing and timing everything perfectly. Then you decide to have ‘just one bite’ of a restricted food, which turns into two, which quickly becomes four and then the whole packet. As the potato chip company Pringle’s aptly coined catchphrase tells us, “Once you pop, you can’t stop.” 
 
The problem is twofold: it's both a problem of physiology and psychology.
 
So in this week's episode of The Enterprise Fitness Podcast, I tackle where to begin making changes that you can stick to. 
 
This episode was filmed and recorded at a recent Internship I ran for trainers, were I spilled the beans on what it takes to get head-turning results. 

S6:E24 - You Don’t Need a Better Diet...

In this week's episode of The Enterprise Fitness Podcast, we delve into the intriguing concept that "You Don't Need a Better Diet." Discover why long-term success in health and wellness isn't just about the diet you choose but a profound shift in your identity. We examine popular dieting approaches, explore the lessons from "The Biggest Loser," and introduce you to the transformative DILTS model. Join us as we unlock the secrets to sustainable change and lasting results. Available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube. Don't miss this eye-opening episode!

S6:E23 - BTS: The Real Journey of an Olympic Athlete?!

Welcome to another captivating episode of The Enterprise Fitness Podcast! In today's edition, we're delving deep into the world of Olympic athletes – the true titans of dedication, resilience, and relentless pursuit of excellence.
Join us as we unveil the incredible journey of two-time Olympic athlete and Enterprise Fitness team member, Heming!
From the vibrant streets of Rio to the monumental stage of Tokyo, we're exploring the heart-pounding highs and soul-searching lows of his Olympic odyssey. But Heming's story didn't start with the Olympics; it began at age six, with a table tennis paddle in hand. 🏓
This is a conversation that transcends sports. It's a testament to the unyielding spirit of those who commit their lives to mastery, regardless of the field. 🎨
In the world of Olympic athletes, pressure is a privilege. 🎖️ It's a lifetime of grinding and sweating, all for those few minutes of "raw talent" on the grand stage. Every four years, they bet it all. ⏳ And missing it means a long wait. ⌛
So, join us for an episode that will resonate with anyone dedicated to their craft, anyone who knows that the pursuit of excellence is a journey filled with trials, tribulations, and triumphs. 🌍
Tune in to The Enterprise Fitness Podcast on your favorite podcast platform, and let's uncover the inspiring story of an Olympic athlete's relentless pursuit of greatness. 🎧
Don't forget to hit that Subscribe button, like this video, and share it with fellow enthusiasts of excellence! 🚀