night running & that creepy guy in the forest - this weeks adventure

so last night I went for a run with my training partner down on the forest track.
we started running at 17.20 in the evening,
now if you're reading this and you don't live in the north of Europe then you might not realise that at 5 pm in Stockholm at this time of year it is pitch black.
Even though its technically still the afternoon, its dark outside.
Living in Sweden they are well aware of that and there is a section of the track that is very well lit, and you can use the track all through winter without concern,
But...
there is more than one way to get to the light track , and the way that I like to go has no lights at all - its very dark, so we do the only logical thing  (insert look of contempt here) we break out the headlamps and run with them.
I love it, it makes me feel just a little hardcore, I'm out running in the dark with a head lamp I must be a bad-ass.
any way back to the story.

night running

So we get to the light track no problems, light work, bas-ass feeling acquired, running like a hardcore trail-running champ.
Whilst running on the light track we pass this guy, who is walking by himself, in track pants and a hoodie, with the hood up trying really hard to be noticed for walking a little bit creepy and not get his face seen (mission accomplished on his behalf).
I think to my self ooo creepy guy, so thankful we passed him on the light track and not a K before where there were no lights and no people. I shudder a little.
Now the thing is, most people out for a walk on the track don't walk slowly with their hood up, so that was one reason to notice him for a start, the other reason was that that instinctual feeling of "there is something not quite right here" hit me. and as a rule - I always pay attention to that feeling.
as a martial artist and self defence instructor I tell my students to also always pay attention to that feeling, and when and if that feeling hits, get out of that situation.
So creepy guy seen on track, I immediately think of my surroundings, the outdoor gym was just behind us and as we went past I noticed a couple of people training at it. Good.
Keep running.

more night running

We run along the track and do out thing, coming back because we have the head lamps I want to run along the section of the track that has no lights.
all is going well.
And then movement up ahead, there is someone standing on the side of the track I see them because they have reflexives on the side of their shoes and the bottom of their pants, small strips but enough to light up.
And Of course its creepy guy from the track earlier.
OK breath deep keep running. I turn to my training partner and get her to take her earphones out, if nothing else its important to be able to hear what's going on.
as another rule whilst out and about, I really like to listen to music when running but I never have it so loud that I can hear what's going on.
Again my thoughts go to my surroundings.
there are leaves all over the track and whilst they are damp, a person would have a hard time approaching without making noise.
keep running

are you feeling creeped out yet?

I keep my light tracked ahead of me as we approach creepy guy so that I can still see his reflective and then occasionally shining my light directly at him.(yes that's right I see you, if you mean me no harm then its all good but if you do mean me harm then I see you)
as we go passed he turns his body away but turns his head towards us so as to be able to watch us go past, hood still up, cant get a look at his face.
OK so this guy really is being creepy. its not just in my head, I'm not over reacting. that was weird.
keep running
we get a good distance away - certainly far enough so that we could relax a bit, calm down and focus of finishing the run.

So I come out of this experience with many feelings.
I'm pissed that some creepy guy felt it necessary to be creepy on my favourite part of the track.
I'm pissed that some creepy guy decided that he would be creepy whilst I was there thereby forcing me to step into protective self defence mode instead of I'm a bad-ass trail-runner mode - yes they are two completely different mid sets.
I'm disappointed that what was a safe place for me has now become a place of fear.
I am glad very very glad I was running with my training partner and not by my self.
And so from now on we run the other way and get to the light track from the well lit path and definitely no running on dark tracks by yourself.
and to creepy guy on the track. STOP CREEPING PEOPLE OUT! ITS NOT COOL!
oh and stop watching scary movies, they don't help either. :)

Be strong
Love
Have adventures

Good to Go Jo

the evolution of good to go jo

the other day one of my clients asked me of all the services we provide at Good to Go which to I love the most?
and well it was actually quite hard to answer, because I love them all.
currently we are a week away from opening our first training studio, so I'm feeling all nostalgic and scared and excited and all those emotions that come along with doing something huge in your life, and this question got me thinking about how it is that I have come to be in this place in time.

so here it is
the evolution of Average Jo to Good to Go Jo.

Before I moved to Sweden - Average Jo

I started my first business when I was 25, I was a very keen martial artist and wanted to start a self defence business, I went and did a business course, found a space to run classes, had a few clients, but very quickly learnt that whilst people like the idea of learning self defence that actually get a little freaked out by the violence of it all.so needless to say that was not very successful.
So i went and got my personal trainers qualifications. this was a great step in the right direction, I got a job working in a corporate health and fitness company and worked my way up from being the new trainer on staff to managing the corporate gyms and working in the corporate health section of the company as well.
during this time I also went and became qualified as a massage therapist. any way long story short.
after working in this company in various roles for about 10 years, it all culminated into this one big moment for me.
The company was in trouble and I was asked to join a meeting with eh business manager and senior staff and the board, so that we could come up with a strategy of how to turn things around.
now as a trainer and a martial artist I have learned that when you bring your passion into a situation it can help motivate and inspire and great ideas come about.
so i went into my business manager and said why don't we open the meeting with talking about what we are passionate about. She liked the idea, so we did it.

I went first and I was very nervous but in preparation I had a good look at my self and realised that the things in life I was most passionate about were the 3 things I have spent the last 10 to 12 years qualifying my self in and becoming very good at:
Personal training
Massage
Budo

Budo & crazy hair

now the outcome of the meeting is irrelevant here, but what happened to me is very relevant.
after that meeting I went home and thinking over what had transpired i realised that i wasn't doing any of those things, nor was i giving my self the opportunity to bring out my passion for them.
I was a middle level manager managing a team of people who behaved like children on a daily basis.
and I was not happy.

the point of the meeting was to develop a change strategy for the better, but I realised that for me the thing that needed to change was not the business it was me, I was miserable, unhealthy and angry and in a state that essentially goes against everything I believe.
I had to change.
So I resigned and started my next business Average Jo's.
Now at the time Dodgeball was a popular movie, and I thought the name was funny and suited me, I just wanted to be an average Jo. a trainer for the people.
And life was good. my business was doing well I was happier but not much healthier, I still had a few habits that needed sorting out.
what happened next?
well I fell in love and moved to Sweden.
and my wife and I started Good to Go.




But it was just apart time thing.
I got a job through a friend, and whilst I will always be very grateful for that job, it gave me many opportunities to learn Swedish and skills I would never have learnt otherwise.
But I returned back to that old feeling of not being happy, and being unhealthy.
something had to change.
so as before when something has to change the best place to look is at yourself.
and I look back and realised that I had in fact become Average Jo.
I was mediocre in every way. I was not what I wanted to be. And so change was needed again.
Thankfully my wife is very understanding, and after our son was born and I had finished my share of the parent leave (gotta love Sweden and their paid parent leave ) we decided that it was time to go full time with good to go and thus good to go Jo was born. (well still in the making )
why do I feel the need to do these things?
Because I believe that healthiness is 90%happiness and the rest is just plain hard work.
So if you're not happy you're not healthy and if you're not healthy you're not happy.
Do things that make you happy, if those things make you unhealthy then you need to ask yourself are you really happy when you do them?
The good to go training studio is a culmination of my vision over the past 15 years.

Studio treatment room

and here I am today getting ready to go full time into one of the hardest yet easiest things in my life.
And it feels AWESOME!
Thanks for reading
Good to Go Jo

good to go Jo

why do a 12 week challenge?

what is all this fuss about?
why do a 12 week challenge?

me doing goblet squats

If you're thinking about a challenge, chances are that you re at a place in your life where you are looking for a change, and a 12 week challenge is he perfect opportunity for such a change.
there is a common misconception that its all about losing weight.
And for most people it is, but it doesn't have to be just about losing weight, for some people it can be too put on weight, it can be about training for a run, it can be about learning to use your body better, it can be about getting stronger, any way you get the picture.

so back to the question, why do a 12 week challenge?.
This is where I would like to share with you what one of my clients wrote about her 12 week challenge experience:
—
The Good to Go 12 week program changed my perception on many things. Jo transformed my daily attitudes and inspired me to achieve more than I thought I could. The program taught me above all that "I am worth it" - a quote I heard weekly and will never forget. Training and diet do not have to be a burden, and whilst following the program I learnt this. It's not about a fad, it's about a lifestyle. A better lifestyle.
From Lauren Byrnes – Melbourne Australia—

When I received this in an email, I was in the middle of a very busy shopping centre, and had to go and sit down, and have shed a little tear. I was so filled with pride and happiness that I was a little overcome. She had gotten the message, and understood the process.

So rather than telling you why you do them let me tell you why I run them.

When I first started out s a trainer, 12 week challenges were all about losing weight.
the company I was working for was running them purely as a money making venture.
They ran this big promotion and got in a bunch of clients base on this advertising.
They went to an info day where they were told you can lose heaps of weigh, look what it did for this girl... insert before and after pictures here, bla bla ba.
needless to say some of these people achieved their goals, but most of them didn't.
There are many reasons for this, but from my own perspective and taking responsibility for my own actions I was a naive instructor who in reality hadn't had much experience, I knew the theory but in practice things are different.
Any way so this program left me wanting. (and a few clients as well)
and yet I persist with them. as a trainer I have grown and matured (only just) and with that so has my ability to help clients through their challenges.
So the reason I still run challenges even after such a rotten start is because they are a great opportunity to start the process of change.
As a trainer it is a time specific frame work within which to work.
I gives me the space to set out specific goals not just for the client but also for me as a trainer.
It gives me the opportunity to really get to know a client so that after the challenge i can continue to support them through their change process.

hello my little friend, want to play?

The 12 week challenge isn't he whole package, it is a start for change.
For most of us we need longer that 12 weeks with which to change our lives, you know old habits die hard...
but within this framework together we can work to identify areas that need work, things that need to be left behind or worked through and new habits that need to be built.

So you see its not just about losing weight, its about real and genuine change.
For me as a trainer its about helping people to reconnect with their bodies.
I find that in this society we are very disconnected from our bodies in various ways, some of us are overweight, some of us are addicted to things - alcohol - drugs  suguar - coffee - carbs - stress.
So we take a whole self approach to the challenge. We look not just at 1 issue but everything that's going on in your life.
We set the goal. and we work towards it in a methodical in intelligent manner.
And then hopefully at the end of your challenge if you have done everything I have asked you to do you will have achieved your goal.
At the start of a challenge I tell my clients my job isn't to do the work, your job is to do the work, my job is to keep you looking in the direction of your goal, and to keep pointing it out. Your job is to move towards it.

I love to watch my clients faces when the reality of this statement sinks in.
And this my friends is the difference between real success in a challenge and failure.
The understanding that:

• You are the one who has to do the work. 
• You are the one who has to come up with the motivation to move.
• You are the one who is responsible for your success in this challenge.

I am responsible for guiding and advising and inspiring, but you must take the steps, you must move and you must decide.

So if you're looking for change I encourage you to take the step. You may find that its not as hard as you first thought, and with the right advice and guidance the journey to real change and self discovery whilst hard is well worth it.

Alex lost 15 Kg over summer this year on his 12 week challenge

I am a runner!

So we did it!
we made it as planned.
as testament to how hard just starting this endeavour for me has been, in true form, my level of self sabotage was pretty high. I brought many things into my path on monday afternoon that previously have been a great excuse to not go for a run.
at about 2 pm my leg started to hurt.

Me and my mountain bike

since i was 14 years old I have had "shin splints", and at certain times over my life this condition has gotten so bad that just walking was an extremely painful experience.
I have been working very hard with my body over the past 18 months to eliminate my bad habits and to be able to run.
This hard work however has not been tested, and with the expectation that running was going to be a painful experience my legs started to "go out" as I like to say and I was experiencing pain in my anterior compartment of my lower right leg.
But this was not going to beat me.
Next I hid my heart rate monitor from my self - I know , can you believe it?
I got home from the studio, got it out to see if it needed charging, it didn't, I then proceeded to put in my jeans pocket and forget that I had done so.
When my training partner had arrived and we were getting ready I went to get the monitor and lo and behold it wasn't where I thought it was.
I then spent the next 5 minutes looking for it. getting stressed, know full well that here was a perfect option to just say nup cant go, cant find my HRM.
But no this will not get in my way.

in the forest

I decided that I was running even if I couldn't find it. And with that decision came the flash that it was in my jeans.
HRM found, now I can collect all the data I want.
So we left the house, and began walking to the start of the track.
In the play area near our building we bumped into my wife and our son.
a flash of inspiration.(and a potential stumbling block)
Now My wife is a runner, She doesn't train much at the moment as her focus is on other things, however even when she isn't training her level of fitness is still that of an elite level athlete, and for me, as a non runner, I just simply haven't been able to go out running with her. Its humiliating. Now I know you're not supposed to compare your self to others and you should just compete with your self and all that but you know I'm human, and I do these things, and I have let them get the better of me in the past.
But in order to overcome this hurdle instead of constantly beating my self up for not being at the same level as her, I have come at it from a different angle, I am training with someone at my own level so that we can both come up to the level that my wife is at in the hope that one day we can run together, and not just as a couple, but as a whole family.

more of the forest

I want my kids to look at our level of activity and be inspired, i want for them to enjoy the outdoors as much as we do, and I want for them to so that when taking on a challenge, hard work dedication and an intelligent approach will bring rewards.
So any way back to the run.
This is the first time my training partner and I have run together, we have trained outdoors and in the studio for over a year now, and its proving to be a great friendship and partnership, but running is a totally different animal.
Running brings up all kinds of stuff.

even more of the forest

And we have an agreement to be ok with what ever comes up, and totally ok with the fact that we would both rather listen to music very loudly than chat whilst running.
we get to the start of the track and it begins.
I am reminded of running down the bush with my dad as a kid and I smile to my self, I am happy. and I am looking forward to running becoming a happy place.
So we ran to the out door gym, did a couple of rounds of obstacle type stuff there, and kept running .
all up we walked 1.3 km, then ran for the next 1.5 k's to the gym, did our rounds, then ran a further 3.5 ks round the track, then walked home from there.
and what can I say, it felt Awesome!
The running part was fantastic, the hills were hard but achievable, we stopped at the right time, I think if we had kept running what was a good experience may have turned bad,
in the aftermath, by legs are sore but in all the right places, NO SHIN SPLINTS!!!
and 4 days later I am ready to go again.
And I am very proud of my self. I can see my self running through the finish line at next years tough Viking and many other races (as well as the lidingöloppet MTB race, cant forget the bike races).

 So We Did It.
and there will be many more.

Be Strong
Love
Have Adventures

Good to Go Jo

conntect with us on sportstracker to follow the data.
goodtogojo.

Today is the day I become a runner

This weekend I signed up for the Tough Viking race for august next year.

Now for any of you who know me, (and now for all of you who have never met or trained with me) running is not my forte'.
Lifting heavy things - I can do that
Martial arts - I can do that
I can even do aerobics - but running... not so much
in fact I can often be heard saying (usually by clients who are asking me why I am not running with them when I make them go for a run), "the reason I learned to fight is because I cant run".
For me running is a painful and very uncomfortable experience, yet there lies within me a desire to to run, and not just run but to compete in these types of races.
For years I have looked at adventure racing and multi-sport races and wanted to do it, but given it a miss because running is just not my thing.

Well no more. Starting today I am a runner. My training partner is coming round at 4pm and we will go for a run.
I am terrified. my legs hurt just thinking about it.
If I was my client I would be saying something like Jo you just have to do it. Of course its going to hurt at first but after a while it will get easier, you just have to start - come on lets go.

And then there is that other part of me that smiles warmly and says "Finally... I have been waiting for years for you to reach this decision, now lets go before fear takes hold of you, I know you can do this because you are doing it and in a very short while you will have done it".

the basic plan for today is:

• walk to the start of the track & warm up in the process
• run to the out door gym (approx 1.5 km)
• do a circuit that involves equipment at the gym and running
• run home
• stretch

so now the only thing left to be done is the actual execution.

Today I remove the words "I cant" and replace them with "I am"

and that feels awesome - what an adventure this is going to be.

Ill let you know how it goes 

be strong

love

have adventures

good to go Jo